3DEP in Texas by the Numbers

Expected annual benefits $53.09 million 

Estimated total cost $88.62 million

Payback 1.7 years

Quality level 1 buy-up 

estimate

$56.38 million

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2013–3097 

October 2013

The 3D Elevation Program—Summary for Texas

Introduction

Elevation data are essential to a 

broad range of applications, including 

forest resources management, wildlife and 

habitat management, national security, 

recreation, and many others. For the State 

of Texas, elevation data are critical for 

natural resources conservation; wildfire 

management, planning, and response; 

flood risk management; agriculture and 

precision farming; infrastructure and construction management; water supply and 

quality; and other business uses. Today, 

high-quality light detection and ranging 

(lidar) data are the source for creating 

elevation models and other elevation 

datasets. Federal, State, and local agencies 

work in partnership to (1) replace data, 

on a national basis, that are (on average) 

30 years old and of lower quality and (2) 

provide coverage where publicly accessible data do not exist. A joint goal of 

State and Federal partners is to acquire 

consistent, statewide coverage to support existing and emerging applications 

enabled by lidar data. The new 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative (Snyder, 

2012a,b), managed by the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), responds to the growing 

need for high-quality topographic data and 

a wide range of other three-dimensional 

representations of the Nation’s natural and 

constructed features.

3D Elevation Program Benefits 

for Texas

The top 10 Texas conservative business use benefits for 3D elevation data, 

which are based on the estimated annual 

benefits of the 3DEP initiative, are shown 

in table 1. The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (NEEA; Dewberry, 2011) 

survey respondents in the State of Texas 

estimated that the national 3DEP initiative 

would result in at least $53 million in new 

benefits annually to the State. The cost for 

such a program in Texas is approximately 

$89 million, resulting in a payback period 

of 1.7 years and a benefit-to-cost ratio of 

4.8 to 1 over an 8-year period. Because 

monetary estimates were not provided 

for all reported benefits, the total benefits 

of the 3DEP to Texas are likely much 

higher. On the basis of the NEEA survey 

results, all levels of government and many 

organizations in Texas could benefit from 

access to statewide high-resolution elevation data.

The NEEA evaluated multiple datacollection options to determine the optimal 

data quality and data replacement cycle 

relative to cost to meet the stated needs. 

For Texas, approximately 75 percent of 

the total benefits are realized in natural 

resources conservation; wildfire management, planning, and response; and flood 

risk management uses alone, as shown in 

table 1. The status of publicly available 

lidar data in Texas is shown in figure 1. By 

enhancing coordination between the 3DEP 

and the various government and private 

organizations in Texas, it may be possible 

to meet a higher percentage of the needs.

3D Elevation Program

3DEP is a national program managed by the USGS to acquire highresolution elevation data. The initiative is 

backed by a comprehensive assessment 

of requirements (Dewberry, 2011) and 

is in the early stages of implementation. 

3DEP will improve data accuracy and 

provide more current data than is available in the National Elevation Dataset 

(NED). The goal of this high-priority 

cooperative program is to be operational 

by January 2015 and to have complete 

coverage of the United States by 2022, 

depending on funding and partnerships. 

The new program has the potential to 

generate $13 billion/year in new benefits 

through improved government services, 

reductions in crop and homeowner losses 

resulting from floods, more efficient 

routing of vehicles, and a host of other 

government, corporate, and citizen activities (Dewberry, 2011). 

Benefits of a Funded National Program

• Economy of scale—Acquisition of 

data covering larger areas reduces 

costs by 25 percent.

• A systematic plan—Acquisition of 

data at a higher quality level reduces 

the cost of “buying up” to the highest levels needed by State and local 

governments.

• Higher quality data and national 

coverage—Ensure consistency 

for applications that span State 

and watershed boundaries and 

meet more needs, which results in 

increased benefits to citizens.

• Increase in Federal agency contributions—Reduces State and local 

partner contributions.

• Acquisition assistance—Provided 

through readily available contracts and published acquisition 

specifications.

EXPLANATION

Quality level 2 or

better data

Quality level 3

Quality level 4 or

lower data

No publicly

available lidar

0 140 Kilometers data

0 100 Miles

Figure 1. Map of Texas showing the areal 

extent of planned and existing publicly 

available light detection and ranging (lidar) 

data in November 2012 (Dewberry, 2011). 

Quality level 2 or better lidar data meet 

3DEP requirements. See table 2 for quality 

level information. 
Next Steps for Implementing 3DEP

Accomplishing the 3DEP initiative’s 

goal of national coverage in 8 years depends 

on the following factors:

• Increased partnerships among Federal, 

State, and local governments. 

• Partnerships that acquire elevation data 

to the program’s specifications across 

larger project areas.

• Increased communication about and 

awareness of the program’s benefits 

and goals.

• Support for the program from government and other stakeholders.

For Further Information:

Mark DeMulder, Director, National 

Geospatial Program

U.S. Geological Survey

511 National Center

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive

Reston, VA 20192

Email: mdemulder@usgs.gov

Claire DeVaughan, USGS Geospatial Liaison

U.S. Geological Survey

1505 Ferguson Lane

Austin, TX 78754

Email: cdevaugh@usgs.gov

http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

By William J. Carswell, Jr.

The following are examples of how 

3DEP data can support business needs 

in Texas: (1) The Texas Wildfire Risk 

Assessment is used to help prioritize 

areas in the State where tactical analyses, 

community interaction and education, or 

mitigation treatments might be necessary 

to reduce risk from wildfires. Up-to-date 

lidar data can enable the mapping of wildland fuels, wildland-urban interface areas, 

and aerial hazards, thereby providing the 

vegetation profile and structure information vital for wildfire safety. (2) From 

1960 to 2008, Texas ranked first in the 

Nation in casualties, second in flood damage claims, and fourth in property damage 

due to flooding (fig. 2). The State of Texas 

enacted legislation to support floodplain mapping in 2007 and has invested 

significant resources, including State funding and technical resources, to address 

priorities for elevation mapping, primarily 

floodplain mapping and risk management. 

The State based its technical specifications 

on USGS standards and has worked cooperatively and in partnership with Federal, 

State, and local governments to coordinate 

elevation mapping needs and optimize 

funding availability. 3DEP would build on 

the progress of these cooperative projects 

and provide additional coordination and 

planning inputs to advance technical and 

policy priorities. With more accurate and 

complete elevation data, Texas could more 

accurately (and more rapidly) determine 

flood risk to the population and implement 

remedial measures to improve the safety 

of dams, thereby reducing the risk of loss 

of life as well as the expenses associated 

with property damage.

References Cited

Dewberry, 2011, Final report of the 

National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (revised 2012): Fairfax, Va., 

Dewberry, 84 p. plus appendixes, http://

www.dewberry.com/Consultants/

GeospatialMapping/FinalReport-Nation

alEnhancedElevationAssessment.

Snyder, G.I., 2012a, National Enhanced 

Elevation Assessment at a glance: 

U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 

2012–3088, 2 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/

fs/2012/3088/.

Snyder, G.I., 2012b, The 3D Elevation 

Program—Summary of program 

direction: U.S. Geological Survey Fact 

Sheet 2012–3089, 2 p., http://pubs.

usgs.gov/fs/2012/3089/.

3D Elevation Program—Continued

The USGS and its partners will 

acquire quality level 2 or better (table 2) 

three-dimensional lidar data over the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and the U.S. 

territories. Interferometric synthetic aperture 

radar (ifsar) data are being collected at quality level 5 (table 2) in Alaska. The data will 

be acquired over an 8-year period and will 

be made available to the public. A number 

of high-quality elevation-data products will 

be created to serve a wide range of business 

needs in government and the private sector.

Figure 2. Barton Creek flooding over 

Lost Creek Boulevard in Austin, Texas, on 

November 17, 2004. From USGS Texas Water 

Science Center photograph collection.

Table 1. Conservative benefits for the top 10 business uses of the proposed 

3DEP data identified in the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment for Texas 

(Dewberry, 2011).

Rank Business use Annual benefits

(millions)

1 Natural resources conservation $13.79

2 Wildfire management, planning, and response 13.28

3 Flood risk management 12.70

4 Agriculture and precision farming 7.08

5 Infrastructure and construction management 2.57

6 Water supply and quality 1.39

7 Geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation 0.50

8 Aviation navigation and safety 0.42

9 Coastal zone management 0.39

10 Sea level rise and subsidence 0.33

Other 0.65

Total 53.10

Table 2. Data quality levels used in the 

National Enhanced Elevation Assessment 

(Dewberry, 2011).

[≤, less than or equal to]

Quality 

level

Nominal pulse 

spacing

(meters)

Vertical 

accuracy 

(centimeters)

1 0.35 9.25

2 0.7 9.25

3 1–2 ≤18.5

4 5 46–139

5 5 93–185