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Abstract. We develop a new large-scale hydrological and water resources model, theCommunity Water Model (CWatM), which can simulate hydrology both globallyand regionally at different resolutions from 30 arcmin to 30 arcsec atdaily time steps. CWatM is open source in the Python programming environmentand has a modular structure. It uses global, freely available data in thenetCDF4 file format for reading, storage, and production of data in acompact way. CWatM includes general surface and groundwater hydrologicalprocesses but also takes into account human activities, such as water useand reservoir regulation, by calculating water demands, water use, andreturn flows. Reservoirs and lakes are included in the model scheme. CWatMis used in the framework of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model IntercomparisonProject (ISIMIP), which compares global model outputs. The flexible modelstructure allows for dynamic interaction with hydro-economic and water qualitymodels for the assessment and evaluation of water management options.Furthermore, the novelty of CWatM is its combination of state-of-the-arthydrological modeling, modular programming, an online user manual andautomatic source code documentation, global and regional assessments atdifferent spatial resolutions, and a potential community to add to, change,and expand the open-source project. CWatM also strives to build a communitylearning environment which is able to freely use an open-source hydrologicalmodel and flexible coupling possibilities to other sectoral models, such asenergy and agriculture.
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