WaterGEMS Water Network Hydraulic Modelling Training Course

Course overview

Water utilities, consulting teams and humanitarian infrastructure programmes need defensible answers to practical network questions: can a proposed borehole, storage tank or transmission main maintain pressure at distant standposts; where will low pressure occur during peak demand; how much water is lost through leakage; and what happens when a pump, main or reservoir is unavailable? WaterGEMS enables these questions to be tested before capital is committed, but reliable results depend on sound network schematisation, credible demand and operational data, and disciplined calibration. This course addresses the gap between drawing a network and producing a model that engineers, operators, donors and approving authorities can trust.

Participants build and analyse pressurised water-distribution models in Bentley OpenFlows WaterGEMS. They configure pipes, junctions, tanks, reservoirs, pumps, valves, demand patterns and operational controls; import spatial network data; assign demands and scenarios; run steady-state and extended-period simulations; and interpret pressures, flows, velocities, headloss, tank levels and pump duty points. The course also covers model calibration, leakage representation, fire-flow checks, criticality analysis, pressure-zone design and alternatives analysis using scenarios and Darwin Designer.

Teaching combines short technical demonstrations with guided model-building on a realistic utility network case. Each participant progressively develops an auditable WaterGEMS model, tests operational and investment options, and documents assumptions, results and recommendations. They leave with a completed model package, scenario comparison outputs, calibration notes and a concise technical decision brief that can be adapted to an active network-planning, rehabilitation or emergency water-supply assignment.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Construct a connected WaterGEMS network model using junctions, pipes, tanks, reservoirs, pumps, valves and controls
• Import and clean spatial network data from GIS sources while checking connectivity, elevations and asset attributes
• Assign population-based demands, demand patterns and pressure-dependent demand assumptions to model nodes
• Run steady-state and extended-period simulations to assess pressure, flow, velocity, headloss and storage behaviour
• Calibrate a WaterGEMS model against field pressure, flow and reservoir-level observations using demand and roughness adjustments
• Develop operational scenarios for pump schedules, isolation events, peak demand, source outages and network expansion
• Evaluate fire flow, pressure-zone boundaries, pipe constraints and pumping duty points using WaterGEMS analysis tools
• Produce a documented modelling report with scenario results, assumptions, limitations and prioritised engineering recommendations

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Water Network Engineers — who design, rehabilitate or operate pressurised distribution systems
• Utility Planning Engineers — who must test capital investment options against demand growth and service targets
• Hydraulic Modellers — who need a repeatable WaterGEMS workflow for calibrated network analysis
• WASH Infrastructure Engineers — who assess water-supply schemes for municipalities, camps or host communities
• Operations and Maintenance Engineers — who investigate low pressure, pump performance and network isolation impacts
• Consulting Engineers — who prepare defensible hydraulic assessments for clients, regulators and funding partners

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should already understand the basic components of a pressurised water network, including pipes, junctions, reservoirs, tanks, pumps, valves, flow, pressure, head and demand. Experience reading network drawings, asset registers or GIS layers is useful, as is routine use of spreadsheets. Prior use of WaterGEMS is not required, but participants should be comfortable working in Windows and managing files. The course does not require advanced mathematics, programming, prior hydraulic-model calibration experience or an ArcGIS licence. Participants will work with supplied datasets and templates before applying the workflow to their own systems.

Training methodology

The instructor demonstrates each WaterGEMS workflow on a utility-scale distribution model, then participants repeat it in guided hands-on sessions using supplied GIS, demand, pump and field-monitoring data. Short technical inputs explain the hydraulic reasoning behind each software setting. Teams review model assumptions, diagnose implausible results and compare operational and capital scenarios for a shared case network. Daily exercises add to an individual model file. On the final day, participants prepare a decision brief and application plan identifying the data, checks and stakeholders needed to use WaterGEMS on their own network.

Course outline

Day 1: Building a reliable WaterGEMS network model

• WaterGEMS interface, project structure and calculation options
• Hydraulic network schematisation and model purpose definition
• Junction, pipe, reservoir, tank, pump and valve element configuration
• Elevation assignment and datum consistency checks
• Pipe material, diameter, roughness and minor-loss data
• Network connectivity validation and tracing tools
• GIS and spreadsheet data import using ModelBuilder and flextables

Workshop: Participants build a connected baseline model from supplied GIS and asset-register data and produce a first-pass network quality-check log.

Day 2: Demand, operations and simulation setup

• Base demand allocation from population, connections and consumption data
• Demand categories, unit demands and customer allocation methods
• Diurnal demand patterns and peak-factor development
• Pressure-dependent demand versus demand-driven modelling assumptions
• Pump curves, efficiency curves and pump operating points
• Tank operating ranges, reservoir boundaries and control logic
• Steady-state versus extended-period simulation configuration

Workshop: Participants create demand patterns and operational controls, then run a 24-hour simulation and produce pressure and tank-level time-series plots.

Day 3: Calibration and model quality assurance

• Field data requirements for pressure, flow, level and pump calibration
• Selection of calibration dates and representative operating conditions
• Observed-data import and comparison in WaterGEMS
• Demand adjustment, roughness adjustment and source-boundary refinement
• Calibration targets, residuals and acceptance criteria
• Detecting disconnected zones, unrealistic velocities and energy anomalies
• Model assumptions register, version control and review checklist

Workshop: Participants calibrate the case model against supplied logger and production data and produce a calibration summary identifying remaining uncertainty.

Day 4: Network performance and alternatives analysis

• Pressure and velocity thematic mapping for service-level assessment
• Headloss analysis and identification of hydraulic bottlenecks
• Fire-flow analysis and residual-pressure criteria
• Pressure-zone definition and pressure-reducing valve evaluation
• Leakage representation and minimum-night-flow scenario testing
• Source outage, pipe isolation and pump failure scenarios
• Darwin Designer alternatives analysis for pipe rehabilitation and upsizing

Workshop: Participants compare three rehabilitation and outage scenarios and produce a ranked options table with hydraulic evidence for each recommendation.

Day 5: Decision-ready modelling outputs and workplace application

• Pump scheduling, energy cost patterns and operating strategy tests
• Storage sizing and resilience assessment under peak demand
• Demand-growth forecasting and phased network expansion scenarios
• Scenario Manager organisation and reproducible model runs
• FlexTable queries, graphs, profiles and annotated network maps
• Technical reporting of assumptions, limitations and model confidence
• Model handover requirements, data governance and update procedures

Workshop: Participants finalise their model package and present a technical decision brief covering findings, preferred option, limitations and a workplace implementation plan.

Tools & standards covered

Bentley OpenFlows WaterGEMS, EPANET 2.2, ArcGIS Pro, AWWA M32 Distribution Network Analysis

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions