USGS Groundwater Information
Groundwater Resources Program
New & Noteworthy
Journal Article: Review: Groundwater in Alaska
Technical Announcement: Groundwater's Greater Role in Waterways Demonstrated in Virginia
Technical Announcement: How Does Groundwater Pumping Affect Streamflow?
Media Advisory: Briefing on Groundwater
USGS Groundwater Watch
USGS maintains a network of active wells to provide basic statistics about groundwater levels.
Other Water Topics
USGS in Your State
USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.
Groundwater Model Development
The USGS is at the forefront of devising new techniques to solve practical problems in the study of groundwater resources. Predictive models are needed to make informed decisions in many emerging areas related to the effects of groundwater development. New models and methods enhance all USGS water programs. State and local governments as well as groundwater scientists and engineers in the private sector regularly use USGS models as an integral part of their work.
The USGS Modular Groundwater Flow Model (MODFLOW) is the most widely used program in the world for simulating groundwater flow. The USGS developed MODFLOW in the early 1980s. The Groundwater Resources Program (GWRP) continues to support the enhancement of MODFLOW with updates that help scientists and engineers simulate common features in groundwater systems. New features have been added and the software has been updated to incorporate advancements in our understanding of groundwater hydrology, to respond to changes in user needs, and to take advantage of constantly increasing computer power and speeds.
Below are examples of and links to USGS groundwater software:
USGS releases new software and updates existing software on an ongoing basis. The USGS software packages listed here are the most recent groundwater software releases and updates.
May 17, 2013: HUFPrint v.1.2.2 has been released. HUFPrint is a tabulation and visualization utility for the Hydrogeologic-Unit Flow (HUF) Package of MODFLOW. This version increases array dimensions. Now, MXPAR=MXZON=MXMLT=5000; MXCLST=100000; MXINST=10000.
May 17, 2013: ModelMuse v.22.214.171.124 has been released. ModelMuse is a graphical user interface (GUI) for MODFLOW-2005, MODFLOW-LGR, MODFLOW-NWT, MT3DMS, PHAST, MODPATH, and ZONEBUDGET. This version includes several enhancements, chanages, and bug fixes. In MODFLOW models, ModelMuse now checks that there is a hydraulic connection between all the active cells. On some computers, bugs are encountered related to the 3D view. The 3D view is hidden on such computers to allow the program to continue running. Refer to the version history for complete list of changes.
May 03, 2013: MODFLOW-USG v.1.0.00 has been released. MODFLOW-USG is a new unstructured grid version of MODFLOW for simulating groundwater flow and tightly coupled processes using a control volume finite-difference formulation. This is the initial release.
Apr 22, 2013: ListingAnalyst v.1.0 has been released. ListingAnalyst is a Windows(R) program for viewing the main output file from MODFLOW-2005, MODFLOW-NWT and MODFLOW-LGR. This is the initial release.
Apr 22, 2013: ModelMuse v.126.96.36.199 has been released. ModelMuse is a graphical user interface (GUI) for MODFLOW-2005, MODFLOW-LGR, MODFLOW-NWT, MT3DMS, PHAST, MODPATH, and ZONEBUDGET. This version includes several enhancements, chanages, and bug fixes. Refer to the version history for complete list of changes.
Apr 22, 2013: GW_Chart v.188.8.131.52 has been released. GW_Chart is a graphing application for MODFLOW, MOC3D, ZONEBUDGET, SUTRA, MT3D, HST3D. UCODE-2005, and OPR-PPR. GW_Chart also draws Piper diagrams and converts binary cell-by-cell flow files to text files. This release fixed bugs getting time step from MODFLOW files and displaying hydrographs.
Apr 22, 2013: CRT v.1.0 has been released. Cascade Routing Tool (CRT) is a computer application to define and visualize flow paths for grid-based watershed models that include GSFLOW and PRMS. This is the initial release.
Apr 22, 2013: GSFLOW v.1.1.6 has been released. GSFLOW is a coupled Groundwater and Surface-water FLOW model based on the USGS Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) and Modular Groundwater Flow Model (MODFLOW-2005) . This version of GSFLOW is based on MODFLOW-2005 version 1.9.01, MODFLOW-NWT version 1.0.7, and PRMS version 3.0.5. A number of enhancements and bug fixes have been done for this release. All of the updates are described in file GSFLOW_v1.1.6_Updates.pdf.
Selected USGS Groundwater Software
The software packages below are examples of key USGS groundwater software that has been developed with GWRP support.
Farm Process estimates dynamically integrated supply-and-demand components of irrigated agriculture as part of the simulation of surface-water and groundwater flow based on MODFLOW-2000 and MODFLOW-2005.
GSFLOW is a coupled groundwater and surface-water flow model based on the USGS Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) and MODFLOW-2005.
Groundwater Management Model Process 2005 is a Groundwater Management Process for the USGS modular three-dimensional groundwater model, MODFLOW-2005, using optimization with local grid refinement (LGR) capability.
MODFLOW-LGR is a version of MODFLOW-2005 with local grid refinement.
SEAWAT is a generic MODFLOW/MT3DMS-based computer program designed to simulate three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow coupled with multi-species solute and heat transport.
For More Information:
For more information or to download USGS groundwater software and supporting documentation, visit USGS Groundwater Software.
You can also learn more about how the USGS continues to lead in the development and application of groundwater modeling software.