Frequent Questions About Hydrologic and Water Quality Models
Please contact us if you cannot find the answer to your question below.
Question: I can't find the product that I need. Where else can I look?
Answer: A list of software or data products is available at the Modeling Products page. A list of related environmental modeling Web sites is also available.
Question: I am having trouble installing or running a model on my Windows 2000 or XP computer. Is the model incompatible with my operating system?
Answer: Some older models were compiled using Lahey Fortran 77 or Lahey Fortran 90. Models which utilized these compilers are incompatible with Windows 2000 and XP systems and must be run on Windows 95, 98, or NT operating systems. We are in the process of updating affected models to address this problem.
Question: The FEMWATER/LEWASTE model is no longer listed in the Groundwater Models page of the website. Is it still available?
Answer: FEMWATER/LEWASTE is no longer distributed or supported. A variety of subsurface flow models are available from EPA's Center for Subsurface Modeling Support (CSMoS).
Question: Are the software products available on disk?
Answer: Yes. Selected software and data files are available on disk upon request. Contact us to request disk copies of software products.
Question: During the installation of a software product, an error message similar to the following is displayed: "Not ready reading drive x Abort, Retry, Fail?". How do I proceed with the installation?
Answer: Some older installation programs are designed to "poll" system resources to determine how many and what type of disk drives are available on the system. It is possible that the install program will find the CD ROM drive and attempt to include it in the list of available drives. The simple solution is to place any CD into the CD ROM drive then press the R, F, or Enter key.
Question: When I execute selected software products, strange, un-readable characters appear on or scroll across the screen. Can this be corrected?
Answer: Yes. Selected software products (i.e., HSPF, MINTEQ, MULTIMED, etc.) require that the device driver ANSI.SYS be loaded. The ANSI.SYS device driver file provides support for enhanced keyboard and screen capabilities. Instructions for loading ANSI.SYS, based on operating system, are listed below. We recommend that you consult your local computer support personnel before implementing these changes.
- DOS or Windows 3.1x: add the statement DEVICE=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS to the CONFIG.SYS file;
- Windows 95 or 98: add the statement DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS to the CONFIG.SYS file;
- Windows NT: add the statement DEVICE=%SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\ANSI.SYS to the CONFIG.NT file.
The location of CONFIG.SYS, CONFIG.NT, and ANSI.SYS may differ from the examples shown above. Remember, the system must be shut-down and re-started before these changes will be activated.
Question: Where can I get information about environmental issues and potential environmental and human health risks caused by pollution?
Answer: The EPA’s Environmental Topics page provides information to help you, your family, and your community learn about and protect the environment.