Regional Hydrology

Our regional water systems are far from natural anymore, with human-made or modified rivers, canals, and subsurface water systems. This infrastructure cannot be seen separately from its surrounding environment, while keeping the relation with the desired functionalities.

In this module students will learn about open water systems, with their canals (human-made or modified) and structures, as well as the subsurface water system. Focus will be on the hydraulics of the water infrastructure (flows), but issues of water quality, ecology and morphology are included as well.

Project: Water systems

Link to the learning objectives of the module:

B3: LO1, LO2, LO5 and LO8.

Students learn how to connect the individual behaviors of infrastructural elements in a water system, how to model water systems, using available software, and how to define goals of selected (types of) systems in terms of desired water flows (like drainage-irrigation, flood-drought, urban-rural) by focusing on the following topics:

• Existing water systems are analyzed, using several sessions specifying quantification of behavior - allowing linking to the other sub themes.

• Exchanges between teams (peer reviews) and students working on different modelling approaches allow students to develop insight into model use and system behavior.

• Specific problems in selected water systems are addressed, and students propose measures – relating explicitly to the other sub themes.

All the B-modules in the Water Resources Engineering track will have a workshop on ethical responsibility of engineers.

Groundwater modelling

Link to learning objectives of the module:

B3: LO2 and LO4.

In this unit, students learn how to model groundwater systems, by quantifying

groundwater flow and heads. Different model approaches are applied in exercises to assess the environmental impact of man-made changes in the geohydrological system.

Specific topics include:

• The analytic element method and the finite difference method (including MODFLOW).

• Comparison of grid-based methods and analytical methods.

• Design of well fields including capture zones and wellhead protection

• Pumping test analysis

• Travel times

• Time series analysis of groundwater time series.

• Prediction of groundwater heads in wet and dry periods.

Environmental (eco)hydrology

Link to learning objectives of the module:

B3: LO2 and LO3.

This sub theme focuses on quantifying and measuring the regional water system in its dynamic surrounding environment. Hands-on measuring techniques will be applied in a field setting, where after students critically analyse and reflect on the collected data. Next to the focus on quantifying the fluxes, special attention will be paid on water quality, ecology and geomorphology.

Specific topics include:

• Geomorphological processes

• Measuring e.g., precipitation, evaporation, interception, soil composition, infiltration, hydraulic conductivity, piezometry

• Applying river discharge measurements by different methods

• Observation of water quality, ecosystem characteristics and geomorphology

• Understand the influence of discharge characteristics on water quality, ecosystem characteristics and geomorphology

• Tracer hydrology