Dr. Nyenje Mayanja Philip, PhD

Research Interests

Philip’s research interests broadly encompass Water Resources Engineering, Hydrology, and Water Supply and Sanitation. His work integrates theory and field practice, with emphasis on modelling, field investigations, and applied watershed management.

Specific research interests include:

• Hydrological systems analysis for both groundwater and surface water.
• Hydrological modelling using distributed, semi-distributed and empirical approaches (Wflow, HEC-HMS, SWAT, SWAT+, GR4J), alongside data-driven tools.
• Groundwater systems analysis and aquifer modelling including contaminant transport and Open channel hydraulics, flood risks assessment and sediment transport
• GIS and remote sensing for spatial analysis of hydrological processes
• Application of open source tools like QGIS, R-Console, Python in hydrologic and hydraulic analysis.
• Climate change impacts on hydrological systems
• Field measurements: water quality, discharge monitoring, groundwater monitoring,
• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

Philip Nyenje is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Makerere University, with over 20 years of professional and academic experience in Civil Engineering, specializing in Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering. His expertise also spans groundwater systems, water supply and sanitation, and integrated water resources management.

He holds a PhD in Hydrology and Water Resources from Delft University of Technology and UNESCO-IHE (Netherlands), a Master’s degree in Water Resources Engineering from KU Leuven (Belgium), and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Makerere University.

His research focuses on hydrological modelling, flood risk assessment, groundwater flow systems, water quality, and contaminant transport processes. He has been involved in several research and professional projects across Uganda and East Africa, including catchment-based water resources management and community-based initiatives aimed at improving access to safe water in underserved urban areas.

Philip is proficient in the application of hydrological and hydraulic models such as HEC-HMS, SWAT, SWAT+, HEC-RAS, and Delft3D, as well as groundwater and water quality models including MODFLOW and PHREEQC. He is also skilled in Remote Sensing (RS), GIS (QGIS, ArcGIS), and data analysis using R, Python, and SPSS.

In addition to teaching, he serves on the School of Engineering Research and Higher Degrees Committee, the Departmental Graduate Research Seminar Coordination Committee, and the Departmental Online Learning Coordination Committee.

He has authored and co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal publications in hydrology and water resources.

2014:   PhD Hydrology and Water Resources UNESCO-IHE & Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

2007:   MSc Water Resources Engineering (Hons)   Katholieke University Leuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium

2006:   Diploma, Complementary studies Master in Water Resources Engineering Katholieke University Leuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium

2003:   BSc Civil Engineering (Hons) Makerere University, Kampala Uganda

Enhancing the Distance Education Environment at Makerere University (July – August, 2025) by Korea National Open University/ Korea Institute for Development strategy.

Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) training, a participatory/bottom-up approach for integrating climate change into water resources planning (2025). Organised by UNESCO-IHP and AWARe Initiative (Action for Water Adaptation and Resilience), in Egypt.

The Oak Seed Executive Leadership Course, Executive Leadership Course, Institute for National Transformation (INT), Kampala, Uganda.

1-D and 2-D hydraulic modelling using Delft 3D with case study of Nalukolongo channel. Deltares Software Days in Kampala.

Supporting Uganda’s Climate Resilience in Water Resources Management by K-water Academy (KOREA) & Water Resources Institute (WRI, Entebbe Uganda).

Introduction to Probability and Data with R. An online non-credit course authorized by Duke University and offered through Coursera. Certificate.

SWATplus (Soil and Water Assessment Tool for QGIS) for Water resources management in developing countries. Open water symposium organised by UNESCO-France and l’Institut Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II in Rabat, Morocco.

1. DIGITWATER: Embracing Digital Water Education in Africa (2026 – Present).
2. Reconstruction of an Extreme Flood Event on Katonga bridge crossing, Mpigi, Kampala (RIF Project 2025).
3. Climate change health vulnerability and adaptation assessment (VAA) for sound management of climate change-related health risks in Uganda (Collaboration with school of public health, 2023 – 2024).
4. TGROUP: Experimenting with practical transition groundwater management strategies for the urban poor in Sub Saharan Africa (2015 – 2020) (T-group, https://t-group.science/).
5. Stimulating local innovation on sanitation for the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia, Bill Gates & Melinda Foundation Research project (2015-2019).
6. RAPID: Design of Rapid Agricultural Produce Indirect Solar Dryer (project) (2015 -2019). Makerere University Resilient Africa Network (RAN).

Published books

Nyenje, P. M, 2014. Fate and Transport of Nutrients in an Urban Slum Catchment, Kampala, Uganda. PhD Thesis, CRC Press/Balkema Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. ISBN 978-1-138-02715-2.

Sylvia Tramberend, Robert Burtscher, Peter Burek, Taher Kahil, Günther Fischer, Junko Mochizuki, Yoshihide Wada, Richard Kimwaga, Phillip Nyenje, Risper Ondiek, Prossie Nakawuka, Canute Hyandye, Claver Sibomana, Simon Langan. East Africa Water Scenarios to 2050. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria. May 2019

Published Journal Articles

1. Ocakacon, S., Nyenje, P. M., Kalibbala, H. M., Kulabako, R. N., Nagawa, C. B., Omara, T., … & Ssebugere, P. (2025). Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Microplastics in Nakivubo Catchment: Implications for the Pollution of Lake Victoria. Microplastics, 4(2), 21.
2. Mugume, S. N., Murungi, J., Nyenje, P. M., Sempewo, J. I., Okedi, J., & Sörensen, J. (2024). Development and application of a hybrid artificial neural network model for simulating future stream flows in catchments with limited in situ observed data. Journal of Hydroinformatics, jh2024066.
3. Sempewo, J. I., Kyeyune, J., Nyenje, P. M., Nkwasa, A., Mugume, S. N., Tsegaye, S., & Eckart, J. (2024). Distinct and combined impacts of future climate and land use change on the flow of River Rwizi in Uganda, East Africa. Journal of Water and Climate Change, jwc2024542.
4. Sempewo, J. I., Twite, D., Nyenje, P., & Mugume, S. N. (2023). Comparison of SWAT and HEC-HMS model performance in simulating catchment runoff. Journal of Applied Water Engineering and Research, 11(4), 481-495.
5. Mulangwa, Douglas, Andrea Ficchì, Philip Nyenje, Jotham Sempewo, Linda Speight, Hannah Cloke, Shaun Harrigan, Benon Zaake, and Liz Stephens. “Comparative Suitability of the Global Flood Awareness System and a Catchment-based Model to Simulate Floods in Uganda.” In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, pp. EGU22-3341. 2022
6. Nyenje, P.M., Ocoromac, D., Tumwesige, S. et al. Hydrogeology of an urban weathered basement aquifer in Kampala, Uganda. Hydrogeol J (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-022-02474-9
7. Twinomucunguzi, F. R., Nyenje, P. M., Kulabako, R. N., Semiyaga, S., Foppen, J. W., & Kansiime, F. (2021). Emerging organic contaminants in shallow groundwater underlying two contrasting peri-urban areas in Uganda. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 193(4), 1-25.
8. Twinomucunguzi, Felix RB, Giorgia Silvestri, Joel Kinobe, Allan Mugabi, Jenifer Isoke, Philip M. Nyenje, Jan Willem Foppen, Robinah N. Kulabako, and Frank Kansiime. “Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda.” Water 13, no. 16 (2021): 2153.
9. Mark O. Cuthbert, Richard G. Taylor, Guillaume Favreau, Martin C. Todd, Mohammad Shamsudduha, Karen G. Villholth, Alan M. MacDonald, Bridget R. Scanlon, D. O. Valerie Kotchoni, Jean-Michel Vouillamoz, Fabrice M. A. Lawson, Philippe Armand Adjomayi, Japhet Kashaigili, David Seddon, James P. R. Sorensen, Girma Yimer Ebrahim, Michael Owor, Philip M. Nyenje, Yahaya Nazoumou, Ibrahim Goni, Boukari Issoufou Ousmane, Tenant Sibanda, Matthew J. Ascott, David M. J. Macdonald, William Agyekum, Youssouf Koussoubé, Heike Wanke, Hyungjun Kim, Yoshihide Wada, Min-Hui Lo, Taikan Oki & Neno Kukuric. Observed controls on resilience of groundwater to climate variability in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature. volume 572, pages230–234 (2019)
10. Silvestri, G.; Wittmayer, J.M.; Schipper, K.; Kulabako, R.; Oduro-Kwarteng, S.; Nyenje, P.; Komakech, H.; van Raak, R. Transition Management for Improving the Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa—An Exploration. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4052.
11. Nyenje, P.M., Foppen, J.W., Uhlenbrook, S., Kulabako, R., and Muwanga, A., 2010, Eutrophication and nutrient release in urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa – A review: Science of the Total Environment, v. 408, p. 447-455 (> 100 citations).
12. Nyenje, P. & Batelaan, O, 2009, Modelling effects of climate change on hydrology of Sezibwa catchment (Uganda). Hydrol. Sci. J. 54(4), 713-726
13. Nyenje, et al., 2013, Using hydrochemical tracers to assess impacts of un-sewered urban catchments on hydrochemistry and nutrients in groundwater: Hydrological Processes.
14. Nyenje, P. M., Foppen, J. W., Kulabako, R., Muwanga, A., and Uhlenbrook, S., 2013, Nutrient pollution in shallow aquifers underlying pit latrines and domestic solid waste dumps in urban slums, J. Environ. Manag., 122, 15-24.
15. Nyenje, P.M., Havik, J.C.N., Foppen, J.W., Muwanga, A. and Kulabako, R. 2014, Understanding the fate of sanitation-related nutrients in a shallow sandy aquifer below an urban slum area: Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol.164:259-274.
16. Semiyaga, S., Okure, M. A. E., Niwagaba, C. B., Nyenje, P. M., & Kansiime, F. Dewaterability of faecal sludge and its implications on faecal sludge management in urban slums. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 1-14.
17. Mutai, P., Niwagaba, C., Tumuhairwe, J. B., Kulabako, R., Katukiza, A., Nyenje, P., & Kansiime, F. (2016). Key factors affecting performance of biogas latrines in urban informal areas: Case of Kampala and Nairobi, East Africa. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 10(7), 207-220.
18. Nakagiri, Anne, Niwagaba, C.B., Nyenje, P.M., Kulabako, R.N., Tumuhairwe, J.B. Kansiime, F., 2016, Are pit latrines in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa performing? A review of usage, filling, insects and odour nuisances, BMC Public Health 16.1.
19. Nyenje, P. M., Buule G. S. and Muwambo, J. R. Assessing impact of Oil palm Developments on Shallow Groundwater in Bugala islands, Kalangala District, Southern Uganda, 1st International Scientific Conference On Bio-Waste Recycling in Uganda, Hotel Africana, 26th – 28th September, 2016, Ndejje University
20. Monney, I., Odai, S.N., Buamah, R., Awuah, E. and Nyenje, P.M., 2013, Environmental impacts of wastewater from urban slums: case study – Old Fadama, Accra, International Journal of Development and Sustainability, Vol. 2 No. 2.
21. Monney, I., Buamah, R., Odai, S. N., Awuah, E., & Nyenje, P. M., 2013, Evaluating Access to Potable Water and Basic Sanitation in Ghana’s Largest Urban Slum Community: Old Fadama, Accra: Journal of Environment and Earth Science, 3(11), 72-79.
22. Nakagiri, A., Kulabako, R.N., Nyenje, P.M., Tumuhairwe, J.B., Niwagaba, C.B., and Kansiime, F., 2015, Performance of pit latrines in urban poor areas: A case of Kampala, Uganda: Habitat International, v. 49, p. 529-537.
23. Nyenje, P.M., Meijer, L.M.G., Foppen, J.W., Kulabako, R., and Uhlenbrook, S., 2014, Phosphorus transport and retention in a channel draining an urban, tropical catchment with informal settlements: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, v. 18, p. 1009-1025.

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