

The Constant Value Property Zones approach requires the development of a conceptual model, whereby each hydrostratigraphic unit of the model is assigned a uniform set of property values. Each property zone will (normally) contain a unique set of property values, and is represented by a different grid cell color.

Different model properties are accommodated by grouping grid cells sharing the same property values into “property zones”. The Constant Value Property Zones approach is the most simple and straight-forward, and can be used for all model properties supported by Visual MODFLOW Flex. These two different approaches are described below. Heterogeneous property values are supported by Visual MODFLOW Flex using either Constant Value Property Zones, or Distributed Value Property Zones. However, in most situations, the flow and transport properties will not be uniform throughout the entire model domain, and it will be necessary to assign different property values to different areas of the model. This will ensure the model has the minimum data required to run a simulation. Upon creating a Visual MODFLOW Flex project, the default flow and transport parameter values are assigned to every grid cell in the model domain. Similarly, a transport model requires various model and species parameter values for each active grid cell in order to run a transport simulation. The following sections present an overview of the property zone parameters required for flow and transport models in Visual MODFLOW Flex.Ī steady-state groundwater flow model requires conductivity and initial heads property values for each active grid cell in order to run a flow simulation, while transient flow models also require storage properties for each active grid cell.
