PRMS
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
PRMS (Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System) is a USGS watershed model that follows water from precipitation and snowmelt through evapotranspiration, surface runoff, infiltration and shallow subsurface flow to streamflow. It is used to evaluate how climate and land use affect flows and the basin water budget, and it also feeds coupled models such as GSFLOW. The download includes a basic Java graphical interface and ready-made examples. Suited to hydrologists and water-resources and catchment-planning engineers. Limitations: preparing spatial parameters for a real basin requires separate GIS work; the GUI is basic and needs Java installed; the model must be calibrated against measured streamflow.
Ratings & Reviews
| Licence type | Completely Free, Open Source |
|---|---|
| Licence terms | US government (USGS) software in the public domain: free of charge, with no licence and no restrictions on use, including commercial work. Source code is included in the download. Ready-to-run packages for Windows and Linux. |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows |
| Engineering field | Civil Engineering, Environmental & Water |
| Tool type | Hydrology & Drainage, Simulation & FEA |
| Vendor site | www.usgs.gov |
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Last verified: 2026-10-06
