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Surface Water

After a heavy rainstorm, streets are flooded, a stream overflows its banks, or a river carries more water than expected. What causes this? Does the cause lie in the watershed, the landscape, or the way water is drained?

In this Blended Learning course, you’ll learn how to use QGIS to analyze and substantiate these issues. You’ll combine digital elevation models (DEMs), open geodata, and hydrological analysis techniques to gain insight into watersheds, drainage patterns, and river networks. In this way, you’ll develop the practical skills to analyze the causes of flooding, peak flows, and erosion, and translate these findings into well-founded recommendations and effective measures for water management, climate adaptation, and land-use planning.

What problems can you solve using surface water analysis with QGIS?

  • Why does flooding occur after a heavy rainstorm?
  • Which parts of a watershed cause the highest peak flows?
  • Where is water best retained, stored, and discharged slowly to mitigate flooding and drought?
  • Which watercourses contribute most to erosion and sediment transport?
  • How do elevation differences and land use influence surface water runoff within a watershed?

During this Blended Learning course, you’ll learn how to analyze and substantiate these issues using QGIS. You’ll combine digital elevation models (DEMs), open geodata, and hydrological analysis techniques to gain insight into the causes of flooding, peak flows, and erosion within a watershed. You will then translate these analyses into evidence-based recommendations, appropriate measures, and an effective set of measures for water management, climate adaptation, and spatial planning.

The Theory Behind Surface Water Systems

A thorough analysis begins with an understanding of how surface water systems function. You will learn how precipitation runs off, how watersheds form, and the roles that watershed divides, river networks, drainage, and retention play within a water system.

You’ll also be introduced to hydrological processes such as runoff, infiltration, peak discharge, erosion, and sediment transport. By understanding these processes, you will not only be able to perform analyses but also interpret them hydrologically, weigh different solution options, and translate them into reliable analyses, well-founded recommendations, and appropriate measures.

Working with open data and digital elevation models

A reliable surface water analysis starts with the right data. That’s why you’ll work with up-to-date open datasets that are widely used by water authorities, provinces, municipalities, and consulting firms. You’ll become familiar with AHN, Copernicus DEM, BGT, BRT, OpenStreetMap, watercourses, and KNMI precipitation data, among others.

You’ll learn how these data sources complement each other and how different datasets are combined to form a complete picture of a watershed. In addition, you’ll discover which data source is best suited for specific hydrological issues and how different datasets reinforce each other to perform reliable analyses of the current situation, simulate climate scenarios, and support decision-making within a watershed.

Analyzing Surface Water in QGIS

After covering the theoretical basics, you’ll get hands-on experience in QGIS. You’ll learn to prepare digital elevation models and combine them with open geodata to visualize drainage patterns, watersheds, and river networks.

You’ll perform analyses of flow direction, flow accumulation, watershed delineation, and river networks. In addition, you’ll learn how raster and vector analyses are used to assess flooding, peak flows, and erosion; compare different measures and scenarios; and make informed decisions. The goal of the analysis is not only to identify hydrological bottlenecks but also to support decision-making and justify the most effective set of measures for a watershed.

From Analysis to Informed Advice

During the Blended Learning program, you’ll work with realistic real-world examples and open datasets. You’ll step into the role of a hydrological consultant and tackle issues similar to those encountered by water authorities, provinces, municipalities, and consulting firms. You’ll analyze the available data, evaluate potential measures, compare different solution scenarios, and justify which set of measures best suits the situation.

You’ll work on assignments such as:

  • A water authority wants to know what causes flooding after extreme rainfall. Analyze the causes and justify a set of measures.
  • A municipality is investigating which locations within a watershed are most suitable for retaining, storing, and slowly discharging water.
  • Analyze, on behalf of a province, which parts of a watershed are at the greatest risk of erosion and sediment transport.
  • Determine which upstream areas have the greatest influence on the discharge of a stream or river.
  • Compare different climate scenarios and assess the consequences for drainage, flooding, water storage, and retention.
  • Develop a well-reasoned recommendation for a consulting firm on sustainable surface water management, including a map of promising measures and an appropriate set of measures.

Upon completion, you will have the practical skills to independently analyze surface water systems, substantiate hydrological issues, and translate spatial analyses into concrete recommendations, appropriate measures, an effective package of measures, and well-founded decision-making for water management, climate adaptation, and spatial planning.

Enroll

€395,-
  • Start: 1-hour online session
  • Self-study: Review course materials
  • End: 1-hour online session
Register for this course

You’ll receive 1-on-1 guidance. After signing up, our course coordinator will contact you to schedule your first session.

Learning Objectives

  • Analyze the causes of flooding, peak runoff, and erosion using QGIS, digital elevation models (DEMs), and open geodata.
  • Combine open datasets, such as AHN, Copernicus DEM, BGT, BRT, and watercourse data, to conduct spatial analyses of watersheds and surface water systems.
  • Analyze watersheds, drainage patterns, river networks, and water flows to explain and visualize hydrological bottlenecks.
  • Conduct spatial analyses to identify suitable locations for water storage, retention, and other climate adaptation measures.
  • Translate hydrological analyses into concrete recommendations, appropriate measures, and evidence-based decision-making for water management, climate adaptation, and spatial planning.

Want to know more?

Do you have questions about the course content? Or are you unsure whether the course aligns with your learning goals or preferences? Would you prefer an in-house or private course? We’d be happy to help.

FAQs on Blended Learning: Surface Water Analysis

This blended learning course will help you analyze issues such as flooding after heavy rainfall, peak flows, erosion, drainage patterns, watershed analyses, and the identification of suitable locations for water storage and climate adaptation measures. You’ll learn how to investigate and substantiate these issues using QGIS and open geodata.

With QGIS, you can combine digital elevation models (DEMs), watercourse data, and other open datasets to map watersheds, drainage patterns, and river networks. This enables you to analyze the causes of hydrological bottlenecks and develop evidence-based recommendations for water management and land-use planning.

During the course, you will work with open datasets such as AHN, Copernicus DEM, BGT, BRT, OpenStreetMap, watercourse data, and KNMI precipitation data. These datasets are widely used by water authorities, provinces, municipalities, and consulting firms for hydrological analyses.

Yes. The course focuses on current issues such as flooding, peak runoff, water storage, erosion, and climate adaptation. You’ll learn how to analyze these issues, compare different measures, and provide spatial justification using QGIS.

Upon completion, you will be able to analyze surface water systems, delineate watersheds, examine drainage patterns and river networks, and translate the results into concrete recommendations, appropriate measures, and evidence-based decision-making for water management and land-use planning.