Delta Hydro
Submit a tool

FloPy

DHS VerifiedActive

The Python interface to MODFLOW — build, run and post-process groundwater models entirely in code.

by US Geological Survey

Visit website ↗Documentation
Pricing
Open Source
License
Public domain (CC0)
Commercial use
Permitted
Ecosystem
Python, MODFLOW
Platform
Windows, macOS, Linux

Install

pip install flopy

About FloPy

FloPy, maintained by the USGS, lets you construct, run and post-process MODFLOW-family models (MODFLOW 6, -2005, MT3D, MODPATH and more) from Python. Grids, boundary packages, time series and observations become Python objects; results come back as NumPy arrays ready for matplotlib or GIS export.

It changed groundwater practice: models became reproducible scripts instead of GUI states, version-controllable and parameterisable for calibration at scale (pair with pyEMU/PEST++). For any new MODFLOW project without a hard GUI requirement, FloPy is the modern default — and the skill employers in the groundwater space now list by name.

Where it fits in the workflow

TerrainCatchmentRainfallRunoffRoutingHydraulicsMappingReporting

Alternatives to FloPy

Other groundwater & hydrogeology tools covering similar workflow stages.

MODFLOW 6

Gov-PublicVerified

The USGS groundwater model — the world standard for aquifer simulation, rebuilt as a modular multi-model framework.

Groundwater & HydrogeologyActiveMODFLOWGroundwater Modelling

FEFLOW

Commercial

DHI's finite-element groundwater platform — unstructured meshes, density-driven flow, heat and mine dewatering.

Groundwater & HydrogeologyActiveGroundwater ModellingContaminant Transport

Groundwater Vistas

Commercial

Veteran commercial MODFLOW GUI with deep PEST integration — a consultant favourite for calibration-heavy work.

Groundwater & HydrogeologyActiveMODFLOWGroundwater Modelling

HYDRUS

Freemium

The standard for vadose-zone modelling — variably saturated flow and transport by Richards' equation.

Groundwater & HydrogeologyActiveGroundwater ModellingContaminant Transport

MODPATH

Gov-Public

USGS particle tracking for MODFLOW — pathlines, travel times and capture zones from flow solutions.

Groundwater & HydrogeologyStableMODFLOWGroundwater Modelling

MT3D-USGS

Gov-Public

Multi-species solute transport for MODFLOW — advection, dispersion, sorption and reactions in aquifers.

Groundwater & HydrogeologyStableContaminant TransportMODFLOW