modflowapi

An extension to xmipy for the MODFLOW API.

• Introduction
• Installation
• Documentation
• Citation

Introduction

The modflowapi Python package can be used to access functionality in the eXtended Model Interface (XMI) wrapper (XmiWrapper) and additional functionality specific to the MODFLOW API. Currently it is a joint development of the USGS and Deltares.

Installation

modflowapi requires Python 3.11+, with:

numpy
pandas
xmipy

To install modflowapi with pip:

pip install modflowapi

Or with conda:

conda install -c conda-forge modflowapi

Documentation

Documentation is available on ReadTheDocs.

Examples using modflowapi and its extensions can be found in the Quickstart and the Extensions notebooks. An example of using the MODFLOW API to monitor heads during a simulation can be found in the Head Monitor Example Notebook.

For more info on MODFLOW 6 see the USGS overview.

Citation

Hughes, Joseph D., Russcher, M. J., Langevin, C. D., Morway, E. D. and McDonald, R. R., 2022, The MODFLOW Application Programming Interface for simulationcontrol and software interoperability: Environmental Modelling & Software, v. 148, p. 105257, doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105257.

Papers featuring the MODFLOW 6 API

White, J.T., Ewing, J.E., Ruskauff, G., and Rashid, H., 2023. A generic closed-loop contaminant treatment system package for MODFLOW 6. Groundwater v. 61, no. 1: 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13239.

Larsen, J.D., Langevin, C.D., Hughes, J.D. and Niswonger, R.G., 2024. An Agricultural Package for MODFLOW 6 using the application programming interface. Groundwater v. 62, no. 1: 157-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13367.

Hayek, M., White, J.T., Markovich, K.H., Hughes, J.D., Lavenue, M., 2025. MF6-ADJ: A non-intrusive adjoint sensitivity capability for MODFLOW 6. Groundwater v. 63, no. 6: 874-888. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.70025.

Perez-Illanes, R., Langevin, C.D., Muniruzzaman, M., Rolle, M., 2026. Incorporating electrostatic coupling effects into multispecies solute transport simulations with MODFLOW. Groundwater v. 64, no. 2: 210-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.70033.