Installation

One download, two double-clicks. The tool installs into your own user folder — nothing system-wide, and no administrator rights needed.

What gets installed

The tool runs locally on your computer. It is not a website or a server. First-time setup downloads:

  • The tool itself (Python source and data files).
  • uv — a Python project manager (~30 MB).
  • Python 3.13 — managed by uv.
  • The tool’s Python dependencies, in an isolated environment.

Default install location:

C:\Users\<your_idir>\Tools\groundwater-drawdown-tool\

Total disk usage is roughly 150 MB. After first-time setup, the tool runs locally on your computer; the only network connection it needs is to BCGW, for well and aquifer data (see Prerequisites).

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10 or Windows 11.
  • An internet connection for first-time setup and for future updates.
  • A personal BCGW account (Oracle username and password).
  • A connection to the BC government network to run an analysis — either in a BC government office, or over VPN when working from home. The tool fetches well and aquifer data from BCGW, so sign-in and analysis will not work without it. First-time setup and updates only need ordinary internet, not the government network.

Step 1 — Download setup.bat

Download this one file:

setup.bat — latest release

Save it anywhere convenient — your Desktop or Downloads folder is fine. setup.bat will fetch everything else.

Step 2 — Run setup.bat

Double-click setup.bat. A console window opens and the installer runs automatically:

  1. Checks GitHub for the latest released version.
  2. Downloads the tool package and extracts it to your user folder.
  3. Installs uv if it isn’t already installed.
  4. Uses uv to download Python 3.13 and create an isolated environment.
  5. Installs the tool’s Python dependencies.

This takes a few minutes the first time. When it finishes, the console shows “Setup complete.” and pauses. No editing files, no administrator rights.

Step 3 — Run the tool

Open the install folder:

C:\Users\<your_idir>\Tools\groundwater-drawdown-tool\

Double-click run.bat. (Tip: right-click run.bat once and choose Send to → Desktop (create shortcut) so it is easy to find next time.)

A console window opens — leave it running; closing it stops the tool. Once the local server is ready, your browser opens to http://localhost:8050. The first launch takes 10–15 seconds while Python loads for the first time; subsequent launches are nearly instant. If the browser does not open on its own, open any browser and go to that address.

Continue to First run.

Updating to a new version

When a new release is published, re-run the same setup.bat (or download a fresh copy from the link above — it always points to the latest version).

setup.bat detects your existing install, compares versions, and updates in place:

  • Already on the latest version → it tells you and exits in about a second.
  • A newer version is available → it downloads and refreshes everything in roughly 30 seconds.

These are preserved across updates and never overwritten:

  • outputs\ — reports and files you have exported.
  • logs\ — historical logs.
  • flask_session\ — your active sign-in session.
  • .env — if you have one (most users do not).

You never need to delete your install folder or copy files manually.

Uninstalling

Delete the folder C:\Users\<your_idir>\Tools\groundwater-drawdown-tool\. That is all.

uv itself remains in C:\Users\<your_idir>\.local\bin\. It is harmless to leave; delete that folder too if you want it gone.