diff --git a/hydromt/__init__.py b/hydromt/__init__.py
index c5b74ddc8..6be7ef6b9 100644
--- a/hydromt/__init__.py
+++ b/hydromt/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 """HydroMT: Automated and reproducible model building and analysis."""
 
+# version number without 'v' at start
+__version__ = "0.8.1.dev0"
 
 # Set environment variables (this will be temporary)
 # to use shapely 2.0 in favor of pygeos (if installed)
@@ -7,9 +9,6 @@
 
 os.environ["USE_PYGEOS"] = "0"
 
-__version__ = "0.8.1.dev0"
-
-
 # pkg_resource deprication warnings originate from dependencies
 # so silence them for now
 import warnings