diff --git a/build_sfincs.sh b/build_sfincs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..1c74a70113
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build_sfincs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Build the BMI shared library in the same environment style as the documented
+# working SFINCS build.
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+SRC_DIR="$ROOT/extern/SFINCS/source/src"
+BUILD_DIR="$ROOT/extern/SFINCS/cmake_build"
+
+# Prefer the active conda/pixi env if present
+if [[ -n "${CONDA_PREFIX:-}" ]]; then
+  export NETCDF_PREFIX="$CONDA_PREFIX"
+  export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$CONDA_PREFIX/lib/pkgconfig:${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:-}"
+fi
+
+# Fall back to nc-config if available
+if command -v nc-config >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  NC_INC="$(nc-config --includedir)"
+  NC_LIB="$(nc-config --libdir)"
+else
+  echo "ERROR: nc-config not found on PATH"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Match the documented SFINCS build flags as closely as possible
+export FCFLAGS="${FCFLAGS:-} -fopenmp -O3 -fallow-argument-mismatch -w"
+export FFLAGS="${FFLAGS:-} -fopenmp -O3 -fallow-argument-mismatch -w"
+export CFLAGS="${CFLAGS:-}"
+export CXXFLAGS="${CXXFLAGS:-}"
+
+# Clean rebuild while debugging env issues
+rm -rf "$BUILD_DIR"
+
+cmake -S "$SRC_DIR" -B "$BUILD_DIR" \
+  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+  -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER="${CC:-gcc}" \
+  -DCMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER="${FC:-gfortran}" \
+  -DNETCDF_PREFIX="${NETCDF_PREFIX:-}" \
+  -DSFINCS_ENABLE_NETCDF=ON \
+  -DSFINCS_ENABLE_OPENMP=ON \
+  -DSFINCS_BUILD_TESTS=OFF \
+  -DCMAKE_Fortran_FLAGS_RELEASE="$FCFLAGS" \
+  -DCMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS="-L$NC_LIB -Wl,-rpath,$NC_LIB" \
+  -DCMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS="-L$NC_LIB -Wl,-rpath,$NC_LIB" \
+  -DCMAKE_Fortran_FLAGS="-g -O0 -fcheck=all -fbacktrace -ffpe-trap=invalid,zero,overflow" \
+  -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE="${CFLAGS}" \
+  -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE="${CXXFLAGS}"
+
+cmake --build "$BUILD_DIR" -j1
+
+echo
+echo "Built:"
+echo "  $BUILD_DIR/libsfincs_bmi.so"
+echo
+echo "Runtime linkage:"
+ldd "$BUILD_DIR/libsfincs_bmi.so" || true
diff --git a/build_test_sfincs.sh b/build_test_sfincs.sh
index b7c368dbb1..46c51d9a05 100644
--- a/build_test_sfincs.sh
+++ b/build_test_sfincs.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 cmake -B cmake_build -S . \
   -DNGEN_WITH_BMI_FORTRAN=ON \
   -DNGEN_BUILD_COASTAL_TESTS=ON \
+  -DNGEN_WITH_TESTS=OFF \
+  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
   -DNGEN_ENABLE_SCHISM=OFF \
   -DSFINCS_BMI_LIBRARY=/home/mohammed.karim/Calibration/ngen/extern/SFINCS/source/src/build/libsfincs_bmi.so \
   -DSFINCS_INIT_CONFIG=/home/mohammed.karim/Calibration/ngen/extern/SFINCS/source/src/build/sfincs_config.txt
diff --git a/src/realizations/coastal/SfincsFormulation.cpp b/src/realizations/coastal/SfincsFormulation.cpp
index 59ec39293b..a84ff14ab7 100644
--- a/src/realizations/coastal/SfincsFormulation.cpp
+++ b/src/realizations/coastal/SfincsFormulation.cpp
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ SfincsFormulation::~SfincsFormulation()
     try { finalize(); } catch (...) {}
 }
 
+static std::string normalize_var(const std::string& v)
+{
+    if (v == "BEDLEVEL" || v == "bedlevel" || v == "bed_level")
+        return "zb";
+    return v;
+}
+
 void SfincsFormulation::create_formulation_()
 {
 #if NGEN_WITH_BMI_FORTRAN
@@ -154,7 +161,7 @@ double SfincsFormulation::get_time_step()
 
 void SfincsFormulation::get_values(const selection_type& selector, boost::span<double> out)
 {
-    const std::string& var = selector.variable_name;
+    const std::string var = normalize_var(selector.variable_name);
 
 #if NGEN_WITH_BMI_FORTRAN
     if (!bmi_) {