pyEMU
Open Source
Python framework for PEST/PEST++ workflows — programmatic setup, ensembles and uncertainty analysis.
FloPy
DHS VerifiedActiveThe Python interface to MODFLOW — build, run and post-process groundwater models entirely in code.
by US Geological Survey
- Pricing
- Open Source
- License
- Public domain (CC0)
- Commercial use
- Permitted
- Ecosystem
- Python, MODFLOW
- Platform
- Windows, macOS, Linux
Install
pip install flopyAbout 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
Appears in collections
- The Modern MODFLOW Stack
Groundwater modelling entirely on free software — MODFLOW 6, FloPy, PEST++ and friends.
Alternatives to FloPy
Ranked by the topics, categories and workflow stages they share with FloPy.
Groundwater Vistas
Commercial
Veteran commercial MODFLOW GUI with deep PEST integration — a consultant favourite for calibration-heavy work.
ModelMuse
Gov-Public
The USGS's free graphical interface for MODFLOW — grid-independent model design without a commercial GUI.
MODFLOW 6
Gov-PublicVerified
The USGS groundwater model — the world standard for aquifer simulation, rebuilt as a modular multi-model framework.
MODPATH
Gov-Public
USGS particle tracking for MODFLOW — pathlines, travel times and capture zones from flow solutions.
MT3D-USGS
Gov-Public
Multi-species solute transport for MODFLOW — advection, dispersion, sorption and reactions in aquifers.