New & Noteworthy

• USGS Groundwater Monthly Highlights
• USGS Recognizes National Groundwater Awareness Week

USGS Groundwater Watch

USGS maintains a network of active wells to provide basic statistics about groundwater levels.

USGS in Your State

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

Other USGS Water Science Areas

•  Water Resources
•  Water Quality
•  Water Use
•  Surface Water

Water Software > Groundwater Software > MODFLOW and Related Programs > MODFLOW-LGR

MODFLOW-LGR: MODFLOW-2005 with Local Grid Refinement

• Overview of MODFLOW-LGR
• MODFLOW-LGR Information and Downloads
• Example Applications of MODFLOW-LGR
• Points of Contact
• Additional USGS Software Resources and Disclaimers

Overview of MODFLOW-LGR

A version of MODFLOW, called MODFLOW-LGR (for Local Grid Refinement) was developed (Mehl and Hill, 2005) to support the use of locally refined grids to simulate groundwater flow. MODFLOW-LGR allows smaller parts of a larger model domain to be refined without refining the entire model. Mehl and Hill (2007) expanded the original scope of MODFLOW-LGR to include multiple areas of refinement within a single model domain. Mehl and Hill (2010) allows rivers simulated with the Streamflow-Routing Process (SFR) to be routed through locally refined grids. The current version (2013) couples grids using the ghost-node method rather than the shared node method (Mehl and Hill, 2013). MODFLOW-LGR is integrated in the new MODFLOW-OWHM version of MODFLOW. Local grid refinement functionality is also available through MODFLOW-USG.

MODFLOW-LGR Information and Downloads

Software Downloads

The current release of MODFLOW-LGR is version 2.0.0

Note: Users are encouraged to read the documents that are provided in the 'doc' directory of this software distribution.

• Summary of MODFLOW-LGR [5KB TXT]
• Installation instructions [10KB TXT]
• Release history [2KB TXT]
• MODFLOW-LGR v.2.0.0 (released September 19, 2013) compiled for Microsoft Windows, with source code, test problems, and documentation [4.2MB ZIP]

Documentation of MODFLOW-LGR

• Mehl, S.W. and Hill, M.C., 2005, MODFLOW-2005, the U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-water model -- documentation of shared node local grid refinement (LGR) and the Boundary Flow and Head (BFH) Package: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A12, 68 p.
  This report describes the theory and input instructions at the time of the initial MODFLOW-LGR v1.00 release.
• Online MODFLOW-LGR User's Guide
  The User's Guide is not a tutorial and is primarily intended for those already familiar with MODFLOW. The Guide includes the most up-to-date instructions and related information for the current release of MODFLOW-LGR. The Guide can be used as a quick way of looking up input formats and USGS options available.
• Mehl, S.W. and Hill, M.C., 2007, MODFLOW-2005, the U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-water model -- documentation of the multiple-refined-areas capability of local grid refinement (LGR) and the Boundary Flow and Head (BFH) Package: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A21. 13 p.
  This report documents the addition of the multiple-refined-areas capability to shared node Local Grid Refinement (LGR) and Boundary Flow and Head (BFH) Package of MODFLOW-2005.
• Mehl, S.W. and Hill, M.C., 2010, MODFLOW-LGR -- Modifications to the Streamflow- Routing Package (SFR2) to Route Streamflow through Locally Refined Grids: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A34, 15 p.
  This report documents modifications to the Streamflow-Routing Package (SFR2) to route streamflow through grids constructed using the multiple-refined-areas capability of shared node Local Grid Refinement (LGR) of MODFLOW-2005.
  
• Mehl, S.W., and Hill, M.C., 2013, MODFLOW-LGR -- Documentation of ghost node local grid refinement (LGR2) for multiple areas and the boundary flow and head (BFH2) package: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A44, 43 p.
  This report documents the addition of ghost node Local Grid Refinement (LGR2) to MODFLOW-2005. LGR2 provides the capability to simulate groundwater flow using multiple block-shaped higher-resolution local grids (a child model) within a coarser-grid parent model.
• Video: MODFLOW-LGR with ModelMuse
  ModelMuse is a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be used with MODFLOW-LGR. The video uses the older shared-node method that uses half cells at the interface. The newer ghost node method uses full cells along the interface, and is more consistent with how local grid refinement is done in MODFLOW-USG.

Superseded Versions

The following software is not actively supported by the USGS. The software has been superseded by the current release provided above. The software version below is provided online for historical reference only, and the files may contain outdated information or broken links.

• MODFLOW-LGR v.1.2.0 (released May 18, 2010) [4.8MB EXE]

Example Applications of MODFLOW-LGR

• Borsi, I., Rossetto, R., Schifani, C., and Hill, M.C., 2013, Modeling unsaturated zone flow and runoff processes by integrating MODFLOW-LGR and VSF, and creating the new CFL package : Journal of Hydrology, v. 488 p. 33-47.
• Hanson, R.T., Kauffman, L.K., Hill, M.C., Dickinson, J.E., and Mehl, S.W., 2013, Advective transport observations with MODPATH-OBS -- Documentation of the MODPATH observation process, using four types of observations and Predictions: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods6-A33, 96 p.
• Heywood, C.E., 2013, Simulations of groundwater flow, transport, and age in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a study of transport of anthropogenic and natural contaminants (TANC) to public-supply wells: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5242, 51 p.
• Vilhelmsen, T.N., Christensen, S., and Mehl, S.W., 2012, Evaluation of MODFLOW-LGR in connection with a synthetic regional-scale model : Ground Water. v. 50, no. 1, p. 118-132. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2011.00826.x.
• Dickinson, J.E., Hanson, R.T., Mehl, S.W., and Hill, M.C., 2011, MODPATH-LGR -- Documentation of a computer program for particle tracking in shared-node locally refined grids using MODFLOW-LGR: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A38, 42 p.
• Hoard, C.J., 2010, Implementation of local grid refinement (LGR) for the Lake Michigan Basin regional groundwater-flow model: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5117, 25 p.
• Ahlfeld, D.P., Baker, K.M., and Barlow, P.M., 2009, GWM-2005 -- A Groundwater-Management Process for MODFLOW-2005 with Local Grid Refinement (LGR) capability: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A33, 65 p.

Examples of current USGS projects using MODFLOW-LGR include:

• Nevada Water Science Center: Southern Amargosa Management Model (SAMM)

Point of Contact

Support is provided for correcting bugs and clarification of how MODFLOW-LGR is intended to work. Only limited assistance can be provided for applying MODFLOW-LGR to specific problems by contacting the points of contact listed below:

• Steffen Mehl,
• Mary Hill,
• Edward Banta, or
  
• Richard Winston.

U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Groundwater
411 National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192

Related USGS Software Resources

USGS computer programs related to MODFLOW-LGR include the following:

• ModelMuse

Other USGS Groundwater Software

The USGS develops groundwater, water-quality, surface-water, and other water-resources software for use by the USGS in fulfilling its mission. Most of this software is available online for download at no charge.

Disclaimers and Notices

This software has been approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although the software has been subjected to rigorous review, the USGS reserves the right to update the software as needed pursuant to further analysis and review. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS or the U.S. Government as to the functionality of the software and related material nor shall the fact of release constitute any such warranty. Furthermore, the software is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. Also refer to the USGS Water Resources Software User Rights Notice for complete use, copyright, and distribution information.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

See also, USGS policy on linking to non-Federal web sites.

Software License and Purchase Information

This software is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey, which is part of the U.S. Government.

Cost:

This software is freely distributed. There is no fee to download and (or) use this software.

License:

Users do not need a license or permission from the USGS to use this software. Users can download and install as many copies of the software as they need.

Public Domain:

As a work of the United States Government, this USGS product is in the public domain within the United States. You can copy, modify, distribute, and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Additionally, USGS waives copyright and related rights in the work worldwide through CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ).

Note: Some or all of this information is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of the free Adobe Reader from the Adobe web site.  Visit https://www.adobe.com/accessibility/  for free tools that allow visually impaired users to read PDF files.