NEW version of HGS PREMIUM February 2026 (REVISION 2918)

The HydroGeoSphere February 2026 release is now available for download.

The February 2026 HGS software release delivers performance improvements, important bug fixes, and a major round of enhancements to hgs2vtu configuration and output handling. Together, these changes improve model stability, speed up post-processing workflows, and provide greater flexibility when defining grid generation, boundary conditions, and metadata management in HydroGeoSphere (HGS).

New command:

• table maximum size - Added to grok, mprops, dprops, and fprops files to define the maximum table size when generating tables from unsaturated function definitions.

• time varying friction for chosen faces - Allows users to modify Manning’s roughness coefficient for selected surface domain faces, regardless of zonation— providing more control over surface flow behavior.

Performance improvement for time-based raster boundary conditions
The boundary condition command time raster table now loads raster data only when needed, reducing memory usage and improving runtime performance.

Refactored initial head assignment
The command initial head depth to water table has been updated so it applies to chosen nodes in the active domain, providing more precise control during model initialization. (See hydrosphere_ref.pdf for details.)

Fixes for grid generation origin arguments
Resolved a bug that caused unexpected behavior when specifying optional origin arguments for the following grid generation commands:

• generate uniform blocks

• generate uniform prisms

• generate uniform rectangles

• generate uniform triangles

This ensures consistent and predictable grid placement when using custom origins.

Fix for large unsaturated function tables
Corrected an issue in generate tables from unsaturated functions that could cause failures when working with large tables (more than 10,000 rows).

Windows installer improvement
Fixed a bug that prevented the installer from updating the PATH environment variable when the PATH exceeded 1024 characters.

hgs2vtu enhancements (see hydrosphere_ref.pdf)

• Fixed a variable ordering issue in Tecplot ASCII and CSV outputs when certain variables were activated via plot control.

• Improved performance when writing ASCII output files, delivering a 3x–6x speedup.

• New command --config allows users to specify options in a TOML-formatted configuration file (default: hgs2vtu.config).

• New command --print-config outputs the final configuration to the console and exits.

• New command --log-file lets users define a custom name for the log file (default: prefixo.hgs2vtu.eco).

• Removed --metafile; metadata options are now set directly on the command line.

• New metadata commands:

  • --attribute – sets file-level metadata

  • --crs – sets the model coordinate reference system

  • --epoch-date – sets the simulation epoch date

  • --start-date – sets the simulation start date

  • --nc-3d-full – defines the 3D mesh format for NetCDF UGRID output

• Removed redundant elevation output variables (now provided by mesh z-coordinates).

• Added new output variables for porous medium sheet numbers and overland elevation to water table.

• Completed plot control coverage so all output variables are now supported.

Documentation updates
The HydroGeoSphere Reference Manual (hydrosphere_ref.pdf) has been updated to reflect all new commands and enhancements.

And as always, we are committed to the continued improvement to the user experience. Do you have suggestions for new commands or improvements to the user experience? Send your ideas to support@aquanty.com!

The latest installers are available on the HGS download page and a full list of changes/updates can be found in the release notes.

Download the February 2026 release of HydroGeoSphere here: https://www.aquanty.com/hgs-download

Review the release notes here: https://www.aquanty.com/updates