2026 Groundwater Modelling UK Workshop

This training provides an outstanding opportunity to access industry-leading groundwater modelling expertise to hone your skills. This two-day workshop on groundwater modelling will be presented by INTERA experts, including the co-developers of MODFLOW6 and PEST++. The workshop will include demonstrations of the latest functionality available in these tools, with an emphasis on scripting with FloPy and pyEMU. There will be (optional) hands-on exercises, as well as the opportunity to participate in in-depth discussions. The training will primarily focus on concepts and theory. For participants interested in completing the hands-on exercises, some familiarity with Python is recommended. Instructors will screenshare and walk through each exercise live. Participants should bring their own laptop, and software installation instructions will be provided in advance.

The time spent in this training will qualify for Continuing Professional Development (CPD)*, and certificates will be provided upon request. This course is intended for experienced hydrogeologists and groundwater modellers working for consultants, contractors, and those in regulatory roles in water resources, mining, and environmental sectors. The course is limited to only 25 persons and lunch will be provided. A dinner (self-funded) for delegates will be arranged for Monday evening, allowing for the benefit of further interactions with the course leaders and other delegates.

*CPD hours completed as part of this course are recognised by the Geological Society in support of Chartership applications. Candidates are encouraged to log their hours and reflect on their learning in line with the Society's plan–act–reflect framework.

**Ticket pricing Includes VAT

William Penn Room

Training Agenda:

Day 1: MODFLOW-6 and FloPy

• Introductions and Overview

  • Checking your installation

• Overview of MODFLOW 6

• A brief introduction to advanced FloPy MODFLOW 6 capabilities

• Structured and unstructured grids (DIS, DISV, DISU) and LGR

• Transport

  • Particle tracking - PRT

  • Solute transport - GWT

  • Energy transport - GWE

  • Variable density groundwater flow and transport

• Parallel MODFLOW 6 demonstration

• MODFLOW API demonstration

• Mf6ADJ demonstration

Day 2: PEST++ and pyEMU

• Introductions and Overview

  • Complexity and purpose in applied groundwater modeling

  • Uncertainty, Bayes, and learning from data

• The PEST model interface and model run parallelization

• Ensemble methods

  • Theory

  • Examples

• Management Optimization

  • Reframing from calibration to optimization

  • Linear programming

  • Evolutionary optimization and pareto concepts

  • Reliability and optimization under uncertainty

• Emulation

  • Gaussian Process Regression

  • Data-space Inversion

About Our Speakers:

Jeremy White, PhD

Dr. Jeremy White is a Principal Hydrogeologist at INTERA with a BS degree in computer science, MS and PhD degrees in hydrogeology, and 20 years of experience focused on development and construction of environmental models for decision support, with emphasis on calibration/parameter estimation, uncertainty/risk/reliability analysis, data assimilation, and optimization under uncertainty. He is the lead developer of PEST++ and pyEMU, which are internationally recognized software platforms for uncertainty, data assimilation, and optimization under uncertainty, as well as modeling workflow automation. Using his background in computer science, Dr. White has pioneered new approaches and workflows for environmental simulation that focus on rapid and reproducible modeling analyses. Jeremy has worked on modeling projects around the world and in numerous environmental settings to support both water reseources management and remedial activities. Dr. White also contributes to FloPy and has collaborated on the development of several advanced new capabiltes for the MODFLOW family of codes including a solution techniques for MODFLOW-5 using general-purpose graphical processing units, the development and implementation of a diffusive-wave MODFLOW-5-coupled surface-water model, as well as the new subsidence process for MODFLOW-6. Jeremy also regularly teaches in-person and virtual workshops and courses on applied parameter estimation, data assimilation, uncertainty analysis, and management optimization

Joseph D. Hughes, PG, PhD

Dr. Joseph Hughes is a Principal Hydrologist at INTERA with a BS degree in geology, a MS degree in geochemistry, a PhD degree in hydrogeology, and more than three decades of research and applied experience in hydrologic software development and modeling and analysis of hydrologic systems, including water availability, water budgets, flow, and transport. Dr. Hughes is a co-developer of MODFLOW 6, an internationally recognized software product for simulating groundwater flow and transport. He is also a co-developer of FloPy, an internationally recognized software product for pre- and post-processing MODFLOW-based model input and output and analyzing simulated results. Dr. Hughes has developed software for simulating natural and managed surface-water flow, subsurface compaction and land subsidance, density-dependent groundwater flow and transport, and integrated surface water/groundwater flow and transport. He also regulary teaches workshops and courses on groundwater flow and transport modeling, MODFLOW 6, and Python programming. Dr. Hughes has experience applying codes such as D-Flow FM, HSPF, HST3D, MIKE SHE, MIKE 11, MT3DMS and variants, SEAWAT, SFINCS, SUTRA, SWIFT II, SWMM, VST2D. He has experience in uncertainty and importance analyses as applied to modeling studies and has used numerous uncertainty analysis and optimization codes, such as MODMAN, MODSIM, PEST, PEST++, and UCODE. Dr. Hughes has worked on surface water, groundwater, and integrated surface water/groundwater projects throughout the United States and has taken a project management and/or technical lead role in many water resources modeling studies, including integrated surface water/groundwater interaction studies in support of groundwater permit applications and Everglades Restoration in Florida. He has served as a technical manager or technical lead quantifying processes such as recharge, hydraulic conductivity, and surface water/groundwater interaction in support of regional and sub-regional groundwater modeling projects.

Kath Standen, PhD, CGeol

Dr. Kath Standen is a Principal Hydrogeologist at INTERA with a BSc in Environmental Geoscience and MSc and PhD degrees in hydrology and hydrogeology respectively. She has over 20 years of experience in developing models for projects in the water, industrial, and mining sectors to address issues such as groundwater flooding, abstraction impacts on surface water, contaminant transport and remediation design. Her recent experience includes designing groundwater models with MODFLOW6 using Flopy and scripted workflows to support decision-making by quantifying and reducing predictive uncertainty using tools available in the PEST / PESTPP suite. Recent projects include developing an aquifer-wide water resource model, and contaminant transport models with MODFLOW6-GWT to support remediation design optioneering. She also has a wide range of experience with environmental models including recharge models (4R, LUMPREM), rainfall-runoff (GR4J, AWBM) and water resource system models.

About INTERA

INTERA is a recognized international leader in geosciences and engineering consulting specializing in providing modelling and analysis for water resources and supply, environmental, mining, radioactive waste isolation, and coastal engineering services and solutions. Whether it is developing and applying conceptual or sophisticated numerical groundwater and surface water models for water resource planning and management, designing and implementing site investigation programs and remediation strategies to address environmental contamination, developing groundwater flow and geochemical models for site characterization in support of mine permitting, operations, and closure, or conducting performance and risk assessments for the licensing of radioactive waste repositories, INTERA provides the technology and expertise needed to support sound decision making. Our commitment to using innovative technology to provide our clients with practical solutions is exemplified by our investment in a research and development group focused on advances in model development, uncertainty analysis, and decision support. This group provides input to the Groundwater Modelling Decision Support Initiative and is a regular feature of the International Association of Hydrogeologists World Groundwater Congress.