Water Engineering and Development Centre

Water Management for Development MSc

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Course content

Semester 1 – Core modules

Management of Water and Environmental Sanitation Services

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • Poverty and development
  • Benefits, progress and plans for improved WASH
  • Stakeholders in WASH; Governance, accountability and the enabling environment
  • Institutions, capacity development and institutional change
  • Service delivery approaches
  • Project planning and management
  • Basic economic/ financial aspects of WASH services
  • Project cycle and results framework/theory of change
  • Introduction to solid waste management
  • Solid waste storage and primary collection
  • Solid waste transfer and secondary storage
  • Waste disposal options
  • Case study on recycling and reuse
  • Human rights, equity and inclusion for WASH

Management of Village Water Services

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • Management of rural water supplies
  • Water safety and drinking water quality
  • Water points and water demand
  • Rainwater harvesting
  • Groundwater abstraction, boreholes and hand-dug wells
  • Spring protection
  • Handpumps – an overview
  • Household water treatment and storage
  • Participatory approaches in water projects
  • Cost recovery
  • Financial management 
  • Procurement and contracting
  • Strategic planning and monitoring for sustainability
  • Choosing technologies and service options 
  • Enabling sustainable outcomes

Water and the Natural Environment

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • The natural environment
  • Water resources
  • Integrated approaches to environmental management
  • Water quality
  • Environmental health
  • Environmental pollution
  • Rainfall
  • Surface water
  • Groundwater
  • Livelihoods and water use
  • Land and river management
  • Water pollution control
  • Environmental assessment process
  • Types of environmental assessment
  • Mitigation of impacts

Research Methods

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • Research methodology
  • Literature review
  • Variation and sampling
  • Physical and environmental data
  • Social and economic data
  • Ethics and risk
  • Data gathering
  • Participatory methods
  • Data management
  • Assessment tools
  • Quantitative data presentation and analysis
  • Qualitative data presentation and analysis
  • Communication and advocacy

Semester 2 – Core modules

Management and Operation of Water Utilities

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • Urban water supply
  • Water sector overview and typical reforms
  • Introduction to water distribution
  • Introduction to water treatment
  • Operation and maintenance
  • Developing services and organizations
  • Utility financial statements, ratios and tariffs
  • Demand and willingness to pay issues
  • Demand and willingness to pay issues
  • Serving the urban poor
  • Customer services and marketing
  • Developing human resources
  • Managing organizational change
  • Public-private partnerships
  • Cost recovery and tariffs
  • Case study

Urban Sanitation Management

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • Institutions for urban sanitation
  • Strategic approaches to sanitation provision
  • Cost reovery and tariffs for non-networked sanitation
  • Wastewater treatment
  • Sewerage
  • Surface water management
  • Latrine emptying and transportation of faecal sludge and septage
  • Sanitation as a business
  • Strategic urban site planning
  • Shared sanitation in informal settlements
  • Sanitation marketing
  • Service-based networks: sanitation service chains and faecal sludge management
  • Managing treatment and disposal facilities

Household and Communal Sanitation Management

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • Sanitation in context
  • Hygiene promotion
  • Behaviour change
  • On-site rural sanitation
  • Sanitation in small town, peri-urban and informal urban settings
  • Accessibility: design criteria and features
  • School sanitation
  • Promotion and management of sanitation
  • Community Led Total Sanitation
  • Community Led / School Led Total Sanitation: achieving sustainable outcomes
  • Case study: rural sanitation
  • Institutional support
  • Developing capacity and innovations
  • Sanitation at scale: the enabling environment
  • Case study: managing innovation

Semester 2 – Optional modules

A choice of one of the following modules:

Disaster Risk Management

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.


This unit is based on Disaster Risk Reduction for the Built Environment by Lee Bosher and Ksenia Chmutina.

Introduction to the topic

Disaster Risk Reduction

Hydro-meteorological hazards section

  • Floods
  • Windstorms

Geological hazards section

  • Earthquakes (inc. tsunamis)
  • Volcanos
  • Landslides
  • Key Principles section

Key principles

  • DRR and Sustainability an integrated approach
  • Conclusions: Research and practical challenges
  • References and resources

 

Humanitarian Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Please note that module contents may be subject to change.

  • Introduction to emergencies and the role of water supply and sanitation
  • Engineering assessments in emergencies
  • Stages of an emergency
  • The role of sphere in decision making
  • Key stakeholders and their roles
  • Dealing with vulnerable populations
  • Water and sanitation contributions to epidemic control
  • Disposal of dead bodies
  • Exit strategies
  • Managing emergency interventions
  • Management of people
  • Managing organizations
  • Provision of water in emergencies
  • Provision of sanitation in emergencies
  • Provision of solid waste management in emergencies

September – August (12 months)

Research Dissertation

The aim of this module is to provide you with experience of the process and methodology of research by defining and studying (on an individual basis) a complex problem in a specialised area relating to your programme.