Changelog for TUFLOW CATCH 2026.0.0
Release date: 27 March 2026
General Notes
The 2026.0 TUFLOW CATCH release is a major release.
Backwards Compatibility
There may be some existing models that will terminate with ERROR 3704 in the 2026.0.0 release. This is related to a new requirement that TUFLOW CATCH is configured with at least one soil layer in the catchment hydraulic model. To avoid this error, at least one soil layer must be added to the simulation. This can be done by:
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Including the following command in the Catchment Hydraulic Model block of the .tcc:
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And including the following commands in the TUFLOW Geometry Control (.tgc), referenced from the Catchment Hydraulic Model block of the .tcc:
For example, the following commands set the soil ID to 1 and soil thickness to 10cm for soil layer 1:
Note, that Soil type 1 must be of type GA in the .tsoilf file. Any lower layers must be type CO.
The structure of the soils file (.tsoilf) is described in the TUFLOW Classic / HPC Manual.
New Features and Enhancements
TUFLOW CATCH Manual Update
The TUFLOW CATCH Manual has been migrated to a new publishing system that offers an enhanced user experience.
Windows Installer
In addition to the portable distribution in .zip format, TUFLOW CATCH is now distributed as a .msi Windows Installer package. Use of the installer should be familiar to Windows users. The installer is available for download via TUFLOW Downloads.
The installer allows customisation of the installation location, but it is recommended to use the default location.
The installer offers to install TUFLOW CATCH either for all users on the computer (‘Everyone’), which requires elevation as local administrator, or for a single user (‘Just for me’). When installed for all users, the default location for TUFLOW CATCH 2026.0.0 will be in the standard ‘Program Files’ e.g. C:\Program Files\TUFLOW\TUFLOW CATCH 2026.0. When installed for a single user, the location will be inside the user’s profile e.g. C:\Users\tuflow.user\AppData\Local\Programs\TUFLOW\TUFLOW CATCH 2026.0\. In either case, a shortcut to this location will be added to the Windows Start Menu, together with shortcuts to the manual and the licence agreement.
If there are patches for the TUFLOW CATCH release, i.e. TUFLOW CATCH 2026.0.1 etc., they will automatically replace the installed version. Patches generally do not affect outputs and are intended to fix bugs. New releases will not replace the previous installed versions. For example, the TUFLOW CATCH 2026.1.0 will not replace TUFLOW CATCH 2026.0.x; users can use 2026.0 and 2026.1 side-by-side. The same applies to major upgrades like 2027.0.
The interactive installer requires the user to read and agree to the End User Licence Agreement (EULA). However, if an organisation wants to distribute the application through a software portal or install in an automated fashion, administrators can use the standard msiexec to ‘silently’ install and provide consent after reading the EULA, as well as uninstall:
msiexec /i tuflowcatch-2026.0-2026.0.0-1.msi /qn IAGREE=Yes
msiexec /x tuflowcatch-2026.0-2026.0.0-1.msi /qn
Or for the current user without elevation:
msiexec /i tuflowcatch-2026.0-2026.0.0-1.msi /qn IAGREE=Yes MSIINSTALLPERUSER=1 ALLUSERS=2
msiexec /x tuflowcatch-2026.0-2026.0.0-1.msi /qn
Note: add /l*v install.log for troubleshooting installation with msiexec.
Note: the .msi, as well as all the binaries that are installed, have been digitally signed with a certificate from a trusted CA (GlobalSign), allowing security suites to include exceptions for its thumbprint.
Groundwater Flux Outputs Normalised to a unit area
The 2026.0.0 release introduces the following command which allows users to set whether output groundwater fluxes (GW_QZ and GW_QZI) in discharges and volumes are normalised to a unit area or not. It is recommended to leave this command as default (ON) as the non-normalised results are difficult to interpret correctly due to interpolation.
Prior to the 2026.0.0 release, output groundwater fluxes in discharges and volumes were not normalised to unit area.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where long file paths could result in water quality results not being produced. The maximum file path length has increased and ERROR 5135 will occur if this limit is reached.