SWATGenX vs HAWQS
Concise comparison of two national U.S. watershed web platforms — engines, hydrography, screening, reports, and deliverables.
What this page is: A concise, product-oriented comparison between two national-scale U.S. watershed web platforms — not a judgment on EPA policy or academic merit.
What you get from each: HAWQS emphasizes EPA SWAT-based scenario workflows with preloaded national inputs at medium-resolution hydrography. SWATGenX emphasizes SWAT+, NHDPlus HR detail, real-time flood context at 16,000+ USGS stations, automated PDF reports, and packaged SWAT+ projects.
Who should read this: Teams choosing a browser workflow for U.S. basins who need clarity on engine, backbone, and deliverables.
Snapshot
- Engine: SWATGenX — SWAT+ (relational toolchain). HAWQS — SWAT classic (documented SWAT 2012 rev. 685 in HAWQS 2.0 materials).
- Hydrography: SWATGenX — NHDPlus HR (~27M flowlines). HAWQS — NHDPlus V2 family at national scale.
- Screening & reports: SWATGenX includes live USGS-oriented flood screening layers and automated watershed PDFs; HAWQS targets scenario analysis rather than the same screening/report bundle.
Trusted for modeling across CONUS with:
- 16,000+ USGS stations
- NHDPlus HR (~27M flowlines)
- PRISM, NSRDB, gSSURGO, NLCD
For full tables (HEC, SWMM, NWM, etc.), open the comparison hub (same tile as on the home page):
