SMS - Surface-water Modeling System

Surface-water Modeling
for Riverine & Coastal Engineering

Drawing on over 30 years of surface-water modeling expertise, SMS brings together leading public and proprietary models in a unified environment, giving engineers the flexibility to choose the right model for the current project, compare solutions from multiple numerical models, or change course as requirements demand.

Transportation Hydraulics &
Floodplain Management

SMS provides tested and proven tools for even the most complex river and estuarine environments. From floodplain delineation and inundation mapping to analyzing flow around bridges and highway encroachments, the purpose-built tools in SMS have been refined over many years to meet these challenges. Whether conducting flood hazard studies and floodway analysis or modeling the transport of sediment, contaminants, and particles, engineers generate informative models that are critical to managing sustainable and resilient infrastructure.

Coastal Engineering &
Shoreline Management

Coastal environments are constantly changing, driven by storm surge, wave growth, tidal circulation, and the gradual evolution of shorelines and inlets. Modeling sediment transport or particle tracking provides critical insights for a range of coastal applications including nearshore sediment movement, marina design, and navigation channel maintenance. SMS supports many of the most widely used coastal models, giving engineers worldwide the confidence to deliver results on even the most demanding projects.

More Than a Model Interface

SMS goes beyond simply providing an interface to a numerical model. Purpose-built tools support every stage of the modeling process, from assembling and refining the model geometry to diagnosing problem areas once the model has been run, and calibrating results against observed data.

SMS includes interfaces to a wide range of public domain and commercially licensed models covering riverine and coastal environments. Aquaveo develops and maintains these interfaces in direct collaboration with government agencies and private model developers, producing tools refined to deliver accurate modeling results.

A full list of supported models is available on the Riverine Models and Coastal Models pages.

SMS Modeling Tools

Pre-processing

Building a useful numerical model starts long before the simulation runs. SMS provides a complete set of tools for importing and evaluating elevation data from a wide variety of sources, constructing conceptual models using familiar GIS-based feature objects, and generating the geometry that specific numerical models require.

Post Processing

Once a model has been run, SMS provides a robust set of post-processing tools for evaluating and communicating results. Three-dimensional visualization brings model output to life, while a broad range of plots and graphs support detailed analysis and can be exported directly for use in reports. Animation tools allow engineers to visualize dynamic results over time, capturing water surface changes, flow patterns, and particle movement for presentations and project deliverables.

Beyond the Software Purchase

An SMS license includes more than access to the software. Free step-by-step tutorials and online documentation are available to everyone, including those evaluating SMS or utilizing the Community Edition. Licensed users also have direct access to live technical support by phone and email, staffed by people who know the software and can help resolve questions quickly. For projects requiring deeper expertise, Aquaveo offers instructor-led training courses and engineering consulting services provided by water resources engineers, hydrologists, and groundwater modelers.

SMS System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 11
RAM: 16GB or more recommended.
CPU: Intel® or AMD® x86-64 processor required. SMS is CPU intensive. Some models and utilities integrated with SMS can take advantage of multiple processor cores simultaneously. We recommend the fastest CPU your budget allows.
Storage: Recommended storage will vary depending on individual data requirements. SMS is very disk I/O intensive.
- Mechanical hard drive: Basic performance
- SATA solid state drive: Better performance
- NVMe solid state drive: Best performance
Graphics: A dedicated mid-range NVIDIA® gaming card provides excellent performance at a reasonable cost for most SMS workflows.
Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080 minimum. Higher resolution displays, 2K or 4K, provide a better modeling experience, particularly for detailed visualization work.

Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
AMD is a registered trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
NVIDIA is a registered trademark of NVIDIA Corporation.