SWAT+ Beginner Workshop Information

This hands-on workshop provides comprehensive training in SWAT+, with approximately 80% of the time dedicated to practical exercises. The topics covered serve as a general guide; please refer to your specific workshop registration for computer requirements, schedule, and location details.

Recommended Background

Attendees should have basic familiarity with QGIS, including loading vector and raster maps, panning, zooming, and selecting features. Due to time constraints, we will not review these foundational GIS concepts before covering the SWAT+ interface, so please ensure you're comfortable with these basics before attending.

Software Requirements

Install QGIS Long Term Release and the latest SWAT+ Installer, which includes QSWAT+, SWAT+ Editor, and SWAT+ Toolbox. For the easiest experience during the workshop, we recommend uninstalling any old versions of the software, and installing the newest version. 

Install SWAT+

Topics

  • Welcome/introductions
  • Model overview (theory)
  • Model applications (theory)
  • Introduction to the QSWAT+ interface (GIS)
  • Watershed delineation
  • Landuse and soil overlay
  • HRU delineation
  • Weather and remaining inputs to develop the SWAT model (including point sources) using the SWAT+ Editor
  • Review of summary outputs
  • Using the SWAT+ Check program to identify possible problems
  • Finishing the SWAT simulation and saving results
  • Visualization and interpretation of SWAT+ outputs
  • Addressing user requests and clarifying anything covered on the first two days

Sample Agenda

The following is an example agenda from workshops held in the past. A detailed agenda will be sent to you for the exact workshop you are attending and may differ slightly from the samples below.

Day 1
  • 08:00 – 09:30
    Welcome and Introduction, Theory and Conceptual SWAT+ model.
  • 09:30 – 10:00
    Break
  • 10:30 – 11:00
    Theory: model structure, data overview, and Q&A.
  • 11:00 – 12:00
    Hands-on QSWAT+ watershed delineation: Interfaces, loading data, familiarization.
Day 2
  • 08:00 – 08:30
    Recap of the previous session and Q&A.
  • 08:30 – 09:30
    Continuing: Hands-on QSWAT+ watershed delineation, HRU creation and model setup.
  • 09:30 – 09:45
    Break
  • 09:45 – 11:00
    Continuing: Hands-on QSWAT+ watershed delineation, HRU creation and model setup.
  • 11:00 – 11:05
    Short break
  • 11:05 – 12:00
    SWAT+ Editor session using the QSWAT+ project developed: Running SWAT+ and result interpretation.
Day 3
  • 08:00 – 08:30
    Recap of the previous session and Q&A.
  • 08:30 – 09:30
    SWAT+ Editor session using the QSWAT+ project developed: reading the results, saving projects, making model setup adjustments.
  • 09:30 – 10:00
    Break
  • 10:00 – 11:30
    QSWAT+: visualization and result mapping, theory of model calibration.
  • 11:30 – 12:00
    Q&A session and closing remarks, future directions and workshops.

Upcoming Workshops

  • 7-9 Sep 2026 / Online
    SWAT+ Beginner Workshop

    From setup to simulation: your guided start in SWAT+ modeling

  • 14-16 Sep 2026 / Online
    SWAT+ Advanced Workshop

    From land management to calibration: advanced SWAT+ modeling in practice

  • 4-5 Jan 2027 / India / online
    SWAT+ Workshop

    Basics and beyond: from GIS setup to model calibration

  • 4-5 Jan 2027 / India / online
    SWAT+ gwflow Workshop

    Advanced coupled surface-groundwater simulations in SWAT+