Installation packages for the program are available from the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) website where the current version of the program is always available: https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/hec-ssp/download.aspx.

Old versions of the program are archived and can be downloaded. However, old versions are not maintained, contain bugs and errors, and may not function correctly with current versions of the supported operating systems.

Microsoft Windows Operating System

There are two options for installation on Windows: an Installation Package or a Portable Archive.

Windows Installer

In order to run the installer you must have Administrator privileges on your computer. You only need the privileges during installation; once installation is complete the program can run successfully without Administrator privileges. If you do not have Administrator privileges, the installer will notify you and quit. Please contact your system administrator for assistance during installation.

After you have obtained the installer and Administrator privileges, use the following steps to install the program:

  1. Run the HEC-SSP Setup Package downloaded from the HEC website.
  2. Depending on your security settings, you may receive a warning before the installer starts. The installer is signed with a digital signature so you can verify it was produced by HEC and has not been altered. If the digital signature is OK, press the Run button to proceed with starting the installer.
  3. The installer will open in a new window and perform some preliminary configurations in preparation for installation. A Welcome window will notify you that HEC-SSP will be installed. Press the Next button to continue with the installation.
  4. The next window will display the terms and conditions for using the program. This must be accepted during installation and later by every user who starts using the program on the computer where it is installed. Please read the terms and conditions for use carefully. If you agree, click the I agree to the above Terms and Conditions for Use radio button, and then press the Next button. If you do not agree, the installer will exit without installing the program.
  5. The next window is used to select the location where the program will be installed on the local disk. It is recommended that the default location in the C:\Program Files folder be used. Press the Next button when you are satisfied with the installation location.
  6. The next window allows you to choose if a shortcut to the program will be placed on the desktop. Program shortcuts will automatically be created in the Start menu under the All Programs | HEC folder, so having a desktop shortcut is optional.
  7. The next and final window allows you to confirm that you are ready for installation. If you would like to change any of the previously configured settings, you may use the Back button. Press the Install button to install the program with all of the configuration information specified in the previous windows.

The installer will copy all necessary files and make additional configuration changes to the operating system. You do not need to restart the computer after the installation completes. At any time you can uninstall the program through the Control Panel. When future versions of the program become available, you may have each version separately installed on your computer.

Portable Version

Unpack archive

The Windows portable version is distributed as a zip archive. Unpack, or unzip, the archive to the desired location on your computer.

To avoid antivirus issues, use 7-Zip to extract the zip file rather than File Explorer.

  1. Right click on the zip file.
  2. Mouse over 7-Zip.
  3. Click Extract to "<file name>".  This will create a folder by the same name as the zip file in the same location as the zip file.

Run the Program

Launch the program by double-clicking HEC-SSP.exe.

Installing Examples

A zip file containing the example data sets is contained within the "…\Examples" folder within the program directory. The example data sets can be installed by selecting the Install Example Data option from the Help menu. After selecting the appropriate menu option, a window will open to choose a location to install the example data sets. The program will create two subdirectories within your chosen folder called SSP_Examples and Bulletin_17C_Examples. Project files with an ".ssp" file extension will be contained in both subdirectories. The test data sets can be loaded by using the Open Study option from the File menu and then use the file chooser to select either project file.