Surface Water Models to Assess Exposures
The EPA Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling (CEAM) distributes simulation models and database software designed to quantify movement and concentration of contaminants in lakes, streams, estuaries, and marine environments.
Available Products
The following surface water models were developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in conjunction with other government, academic, and commercial institutions. To find out more about a particular model, click on a hyper-linked model name in the table below. The models listed are available for download and are subject to the CEAM distribution and support policy.
| Product Name | Operating System | Key Words | Supported by CEAM? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQUATOX | Windows | aquatox, simulation model, fate prediction, aquatic systems, effect on ecosystem, ecological risk assessments, aquatic ecosystem | Yes |
| BASINS | Win XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 | multipurpose environmental analysis system, watershed management, water quality, tmdl, gis framework, analytical components, ndpes | Yes |
| CGEM | Linux | water quality, nutrients, hypoxia, eutrophication, surface water, sediment, estuary, marine, mechanistic model | Yes |
| DFLOW | Win XP, Vista, 7, 8 | stream flows, low flow analysis, design flow statistics, daily stream flow records | No |
| EFDC | Win 98, NT, 2000, XP | surface water, hydrodynamic, sediment-contaminant, eutrophication, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, estuaries, coastal ocean regions, assessment, management, regulatory | No |
| EXAMS | Win 98, NT, 2000, XP | aquatic biology, assessment, biology, chemistry, compliance, environmental effects, metals, NPS related, permits, pesticides, point source(s), rivers, streams, surface water, test/analysis | Yes |
| EXPRESS | Win 98, NT, 2000, XP | przm, exams, exposure, shell | No |
| GCSOLAR | Windows 7,8,10 | solar, photolysis, half-life, pollutant, aquatic, ozone | No |
| HMS | Web Services | hydro-informatics, hydrologic micro services, environmental modeling, water quality data provisioning web services, modeling components, precipitation, air temperature, solar radiation, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, surface and subsurface flow, runoff. | Yes |
| HSCTM2D | Win 9x, NT | hydrology, sediment, contaminant, transport, finite element model, river, estuary | No |
| HSPF | Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 | assessment, biology, compliance, deposition, discharge, environmental effects, estuaries, hydrology, lakes, metals, monitoring, NPS related, NPDES, nutrients, permits, pesticides, point source(s), rivers, sediment, streams, surface water, test/analysis, TMDL related, toxicity | No |
| Low Flow | Text only | definition and characteristics, low flows, aquatic life criteria, design flows | No |
| PRZM3 | Win 98, NT, 2000, XP | assessment, discharge, environmental effects, hydrology, land use management, metals, pesticides, surface water, test/analysis | No |
| QUAL2K | Win ME, 2000, XP | aquatic biology, assessment, compliance, discharge, environmental effects, hydrology, NPS related, NPDES, point source(s), surface water, test/analysis, TMDL related | No. Please see: EPA Region 4 |
| RUSLE2 | Win 98, NT, 2000, XP | rill, interrill, erosion, sediment, overland flow, climate, soil, topography, land use | No. Please see: USDA Agricultural Research Service |
| SERAFM | MS-Excel | serafm, exposure, assessment, mercury, hg, surface water, pond, stream, river | Yes |
| SWMM | Win 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP | aquatic biology, assessment, combined sewer, community, discharge, environmental effects, metals, NPS related, NPDES, point source(s), procedure, rivers, stormwater, streams, surface water, test/analysis, TMDL related | No. Please see: Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER) |
| Surface Water Toolbox | Win 7, 8 | Water Resources, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, n-day frequency analysis, compute biologically-based design flows, Flow duration curves | No: Please see: US Geological Service (USGS) |
| Virtual Beach | MS Windows | surface water, water bodies, beach, pathogen predictor, multiple linear regression, MLR, best-fit model | Yes |
| Visual Plumes | Win 98, NT, 2000, XP | surface, water, jet, plume, model, quality, contaminant, TMDL | No |
| WASP | Early versions of Windows, 64-bit Windows 7 or higher, Mac OSX, Linux Ubuntu | aquatic biology, assessment, compliance, discharge, environmental effects, hydrology, metals, NPS related, NPDES, point source(s), surface water, test/analysis, TMDL related | Yes |
| WHATIF | Win XP(SP2) | watershed, health, fish, habitat, macro-invertebrate, biodiversity, BASS, biomass, biota, aquatic ecosystem, MAHA, CVI, hydraulic, bankfull, flow, restoration, food web, mercury, PCB, dioxin | No |
| WMOST | Windows Excel 2010, 2013, 2016 with Macros | Integrated Watershed Management, Optimization, Decision-Support, Green Infrastructure, Tool | Yes |