The Groundwater Toolbox: A Graphical and Mapping Interface for Analysis of Hydrologic Data

Note to Users of the Surface-Water and Groundwater Toolboxes

The Surface-Water and Groundwater Toolboxes have been superseded by the Hydrologic Toolbox as of May 2022. The Hydrologic Toolbox combines the analytical and statistical functionality of the Surface-Water and Groundwater Toolboxes and provides several enhancements to these programs. The Hydrologic Toolbox is available at https://doi.org/10.3133/tm4D3. There will be no further updates to the Surface-Water or Groundwater Toolboxes. 

Overview of The Groundwater Toolbox

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

The Groundwater Toolbox is a graphical and mapping interface for analysis of hydrologic data. The software is a customized interface built on the non-proprietary, open-source MapWindow geographic information system software in a Microsoft Windows computing environment. The Groundwater Toolbox allows for the retrieval of hydrologic time-series data (streamflow, groundwater levels, and precipitation) from the USGS National Water Information System; preprocessed meteorological data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climatic Data Center also are available with the Groundwater Toolbox.

The Groundwater Toolbox has several methods for the analysis of streamflow-hydrograph data. These methods include: 

• six graphical hydrograph-separation techniques — the Base-Flow Index (BFI Standard and Modified), HYSEP (Fixed Interval, Sliding Interval, and Local Minimum) and PART methods; 
• two digital filtering techniques (the SWAT Bflow and Eckhardt approaches); and 
• the RORA recession-curve displacement method and associated RECESS program to estimate groundwater recharge from streamflow data.

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Download Current Version of The Groundwater Toolbox

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

• Groundwater Toolbox compiled for Microsoft Windows, including documentation
• Summary of Groundwater Toolbox
• Release history
• Installation instructions
• Tutorials
• Source code for Groundwater Toolbox

Documentation for The Groundwater Toolbox

Barlow, P.M., Cunningham, W.L., Zhai, Tong, and Gray, Mark, 2014, U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Toolbox, a graphical and mapping interface for analysis of hydrologic data (version 1.0): User guide for estimation of base flow, runoff, and groundwater recharge from streamflow data: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 3, chap. B10, 27 p.

This report is a user's guide for the streamflow-hydrograph analysis methods provided with version 1.0 of the Groundwater Toolbox.

How to Cite The Groundwater Toolbox

This USGS software has two citations associated with it.

1. The report citation is for the original report or article documenting the underlying theory, methods, instructions, and (or) applications at the time the initial version of the software was released. This digital object identifier (DOI) is for the report.
2. The software release citation is for the software/code itself (now referred to by USGS as a "Software Release") and references a specific version of the code and associated release date. This DOI links to the code.

In instances where an author is citing use of this software, it would be appropriate to cite both the report documenting the code and the specific software release version that was used.

Report Citation for Groundwater Toolbox Shown Above

Software/Code Citation for Groundwater Toolbox

Barlow, P.M., Cunningham, W.L., Zhai, Tong, and Gray, Mark, 2017, U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Toolbox version 1.3.1, a graphical and mapping interface for analysis of hydrologic data: U.S. Geological Survey Software Release, 26 May 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7R78C9G

Other USGS Software

Additional USGS software can be found on our Water Resources Applications Software page.​​​​​​​