ZD - Water Management
In this three-day course, you’ll be introduced to the key principles of water management and learn how Geo-ICT is used to analyze water systems. You’ll gain hands-on experience working with real, open-access water data in QGIS and explore topics such as precipitation, elevation, groundwater and surface water, watersheds, and flooding. This will help you build a broad and practical foundation for working with water management and Geo-ICT.
Water management revolves around understanding, managing, and sustainably using water in our environment. Groundwater, surface water, precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, and runoff all play a role in this. With Geo-ICT, these components of the water system can be examined and analyzed in context.
In this course, you’ll learn how geographic data is used to study water systems. You’ll work with QGIS and various types of water and environmental data, such as elevation data, soil data, precipitation data, and data on groundwater and surface water.
A key component is analyzing how the landscape influences the movement of water. Among other things, you’ll work with elevation models, watersheds, flow directions, and flow accumulation. This will give you insight into where water comes from, where it flows, and where potential bottlenecks may arise.
Current issues such as waterlogging, flooding, drought, and climate change are also covered. You will learn how to combine different data sources and analyses to understand a water system and translate the results into actionable information for water management.
The Basic Water Management Course thus combines the fundamental principles of water management with practical Geo-ICT skills. QGIS is used throughout the course as a tool for working with real and open water data and performing analyses.
If you are not yet familiar with QGIS, we recommend that you take the 3-day QGIS Basic course.
Water management begins with an understanding of the water system. Precipitation can infiltrate the soil, be stored as groundwater, or be discharged via the ground surface and surface water. Elevation, soil, land use, and human interventions all help determine how water moves through an area.
With GIS, these various components can be spatially linked. Elevation data, soil maps, watercourses, groundwater data, land use, and precipitation data can be combined in QGIS to reveal patterns and relationships.
During the course, you will learn not only how to plot this data on a map but also how to use it for spatial analyses. This provides insight into how a water system functions and allows for the identification of areas where, for example, waterlogging, drought, or flood risks may occur.
A solid foundation in water management begins with an understanding of the key processes within the water cycle. We’ll examine precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, surface runoff, groundwater flow, and the interaction between groundwater and surface water, among other topics.
You will learn how these processes are influenced by factors such as elevation, soil, land use, and climate. It will also become clear why changes in an area—such as urbanization or extreme precipitation—can affect the functioning of the water system.
We use QGIS to bring these processes and factors together. This way, you’ll learn step by step how Geo-ICT is used to analyze and support water management issues.
A wide variety of geographic data is used in water management, including elevation models, watercourses, soil data, land use, precipitation data, and groundwater data. During the course, you’ll learn how to import, combine, visualize, and analyze this data in QGIS.
You’ll work with real and open datasets as much as possible. This not only teaches you the techniques but also gives you insight into the data that organizations such as water districts, municipalities, and consulting firms use in practice.
Combining different data sources creates a comprehensive picture of a water system. This forms the basis for further analyses and for substantiating decisions in water management.
An important practical component of the course involves conducting analyses using elevation and water data. Among other things, you’ll learn to work with watershed boundaries, river basins, flow direction, and flow accumulation.
These analyses are then combined with other data to investigate water management issues. Where does water accumulate? Which areas drain into the same watercourse? What influence do soil and land use have? And which areas may be vulnerable to waterlogging or flooding?
By the end of the course, you’ll combine various datasets and analyses in a practical water management case study. In doing so, you’ll not only learn how to use QGIS, but more importantly, how to apply Geo-ICT to understand, analyze, and assess a water system.
The Basic Water Management Course offers a broad introduction to water management, directly linking theory and practice. You’ll learn how a water system functions and immediately apply this knowledge using geographic data and QGIS.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a broad foundation in water management and Geo-ICT and understand how spatial data and QGIS can be used to analyze current water issues.
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Contact usOn the first day, you’ll be introduced to the basic principles of water management and learn to view the water system as a whole. We’ll cover the water cycle and the relationship between precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, groundwater, and surface water. We’ll also examine how elevation, soil, and land use influence the way water moves through an area.
Next, you’ll get hands-on experience with QGIS. You’ll work with real and open geographic data, including elevation data and water data. Using digital elevation models, you’ll learn to analyze the landscape and to identify and delineate watersheds and river basins.
On the second day, the focus is on analyzing water flows. You’ll learn how to use QGIS to determine flow direction and flow accumulation based on elevation data, and how drainage patterns and water networks form. Topics covered will also include upstream areas, Strahler Stream Order, and headwater catchments.
We combine these analyses with information on soil, land use, groundwater, and surface water. This will help you recognize connections within the water system and investigate, for example, where water accumulates, where it drains, and which areas may be susceptible to flooding or drought.
On the third day, we’ll bring all the different components together. We’ll examine current water management issues such as waterlogging, flooding, drought, water quality, and the impacts of climate change. You’ll learn how Geo-ICT can be used to identify potential bottlenecks and evaluate various measures or scenarios.
The course concludes with a comprehensive practical case study. You’ll combine various geographic datasets and QGIS analyses to examine a water system. You’ll translate the results into maps, conclusions, and well-founded water management recommendations. In doing so, you’ll go through the entire process—from water data and analysis to information that can be used in the management of a water system.
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.
You’ll gain a broad foundation in water management and learn how groundwater, surface water, precipitation, runoff, soil, and elevation are interconnected. Using QGIS, you’ll learn to map and analyze water systems. The course thus serves as excellent preparation for the specialized Blended Learning programs in the field of Water Management.
Yes. You’ll work as much as possible with real and open geographic data, such as elevation data, watercourses, soil data, land use, and precipitation data. This will teach you how to work with datasets that are also used in real-world water management.
You’ll use QGIS to analyze digital elevation models, watersheds, river basins, flow direction, and flow accumulation, among other things. You’ll also learn how to combine different datasets to investigate issues such as waterlogging, drought, and flood risks.
This combination is relevant for positions at, among others, water authorities, municipalities, provinces, consulting firms, and organizations involved in climate adaptation and the built environment. The course provides a foundation for work that involves using geographic data to analyze water systems and support water management.
The course is taught in person at our location, which allows for an interactive learning experience and immediate feedback from our experienced trainers.
Yes, we offer group discounts for companies or educational institutions that wish to register multiple participants. Please contact us for more information about the terms and conditions.
