3DEP in New Jersey by the Numbers

Expected annual benefits $16.08 million 

Estimated total cost $2.52 million

Payback 0.2 years

Quality level 1 buy-up 

estimate

$1.60 million

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014–3091

September 2014

The 3D Elevation Program—Summary for New Jersey

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 New Jersey, elevation data are 

critical for water supply and quality, flood risk 

management, natural resources conservation, 

agriculture and precision farming, infrastructure 

and construction management, and other business uses. Today, high-density light detection 

and ranging (lidar) data are the primary sources 

for deriving elevation models and other datasets. 

Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies work 

in partnership to (1) replace data that are older 

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 National Enhanced Elevation 

Assessment (NEEA; Dewberry, 2011) evaluated multiple elevation data acquisition options 

to determine the optimal data quality and data 

replacement cycle relative to cost to meet the 

identified requirements of the user community. The evaluation demonstrated that lidar 

acquisition at quality level 2 (table 1) for the 

conterminous United States and quality level 5 

interferometric synthetic aperture radar (ifsar) 

data (table 1) for Alaska with a 6- to 10-year 

acquisition cycle provided the highest benefit/

cost ratios. The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) 

initiative (Snyder, 2012a,b) selected an 8-year 

acquisition cycle for the respective quality 

levels. 3DEP, managed by the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), the Office of Management and 

Budget Circular A–16 lead agency for terrestrial 

elevation data, responds to the growing need for 

high-quality topographic data and a wide range 

of other 3D representations of the Nation’s 

natural and constructed features.

3D Elevation Program Benefits 

for New Jersey

The top 10 New Jersey business uses 

for 3D elevation data, which are based on the 

estimated annual conservative benefits of the 

3DEP initiative, are shown in table 2. The 

NEEA survey respondents in the State of New 

Jersey estimated that the national 3DEP initiative would result in at least $16.1 million in 

new benefits annually to the State. The cost for 

such a program in New Jersey is approximately 

$2.5 million, resulting in a payback period of 

0.2 years and a benefit/cost ratio of 51 to 1 over 

an 8-year period. Because monetary estimates 

were not provided for all reported benefits, 

the total benefits of the 3DEP to New Jersey 

are likely much higher. The devastation from 

Hurricane Sandy in 2012 suggests that the 

estimated benefits of lidar data associated with 

coastal zone management and subsidence, sea 

level rise, and flood risk management business 

uses are significantly higher than cited in the 

NEEA report. 

For New Jersey, approximately 91 percent 

of the identified business use requirements will 

be met in water supply and quality, as shown 

in table 2. The status of publicly available lidar 

data in New Jersey is shown in figure 1. By 

enhancing coordination between 3DEP and 

various government and private organizations in 

New Jersey, it may be possible to realize more 

than the cited conservative benefits and attain 

the higher potential benefits for many business 

uses.

 The following examples highlight how 

3DEP data can support business uses in New 

Jersey: (1) Stormwater runoff carries sediment 

from soil erosion and pollutants such as oil 

and grease, lawn fertilizers, chemicals, pet 

waste and litter into the State’s waterways 

3D Elevation Program

3DEP is a national program managed 

by the USGS to acquire high-resolution 

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 the end of 2022, depending on funding 

and partnerships. 3DEP can conservatively 

provide new benefits of $1.2 billion/year 

and 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). A 

shared, common elevation dataset would 

foster cooperation and improve decisionmaking among all levels of government and 

other stakeholders.

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.

Figure 1. Map of New Jersey showing 

the extent of existing and planned publicly 

available lidar data. Information source: 

United States Interagency Elevation 

Inventory, June 2014, updated annually. 

Quality level 2 or better data meet 3DEP 

requirements. See table 1 for quality 

level information. 

EXPLANATION

Quality level 2

or better data

Quality level 3

data

0 25 Kilometers

0 20 Miles
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, Tribal, 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:

Director, 

USGS National Geospatial Program

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 511

Reston, VA 20192

Email: 3DEP@usgs.gov

Roger A, Barlow, 

 USGS Geospatial Liaison

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 953

Reston, VA 20192

Email: rbarlow@usgs.gov

http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

By William J. Carswell, Jr.

and groundwater recharge areas. Hydrologic 

models using enhanced elevation data can 

improve water-quality management activities 

by identifying locations within a watershed 

that can be used to temporarily store runoff, 

thereby decreasing peak flows and the amount 

of sediment and pollutants (including nutrients) 

in runoff. In urban environments, the higher 

quality elevation data support preservation and 

restoration activities along wetlands and other 

protected waterways, the determination of 

impervious surface area for stormwater master 

planning, and the development of surface-water 

accumulation models that support the rehabilitation of hyrologic systems. (2) Lidar data provide 

high-quality terrain information as input for 

more accurate and less expensive hydrologic 

and hydraulic modeling for flood studies, 

retention dam design, dam breach studies, and 

stormwater management and engineering; for 

the identification of vulnerable properties within 

a floodplain, facilitating better floodplain-management decisions and education of the public 

on true flood risks; and for dynamic 3D models 

that show the potential impact of flooding. In 

the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the 

importance of having recurring lidar data for 

coastal areas of New Jersey (fig. 2) was demonstrated. Lidar data aided coastal flooding damage assessment and hazard mitigation planning.

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/.

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143091

3D Elevation Program—Continued

The USGS and its partners will 

acquire quality level 2 or better (table 1) 

3D 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 1) in Alaska. The data will 

be acquired over an 8-year period and will 

be made available to the public. By using 

this acquisition scenario, a number of 

high-quality elevation-data products can be 

created to serve a wide range of business 

uses in government and the private sector.

Figure 2. Oblique aerial photographs of 

Seaside Heights, New Jersey, show coastal 

change on a developed coastline before 

(upper photograph) and after Hurricane 

Sandy. Colored arrows designate location 

of specific structures before and after 

hurricane impact. U.S. Geological Survey 

photographs.

Table 2. Conservative benefits estimates for the top 10 business uses of the 

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

New Jersey (Dewberry, 2011).

Rank Business use Annual benefits

(millions)

1 Water supply and quality $14.66

2 Flood risk management 0.37

3 Natural resources conservation 0.28

4 Agriculture and precision farming 0.25

5 Infrastructure and construction management 0.18

6 Coastal zone management 0.14

7 Sea level rise and subsidence 0.10

8 Aviation navigation and safety 0.04

9 Forest resources management 0.04

10 Geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation 0.01

Other 0.01

Total 16.08

Table 1. Data quality levels and related 

accuracies for the 3D Elevation Program 

(3DEP) initiative. These data quality 

parameters for the 3DEP initiative approximate 

those used in the National Enhanced Elevation 

Assessment (Dewberry, 2011).

[RMSE(z), root mean square error in the z

(elevation) dimension; n/a, not applicable]

Quality 

level

Nominal pulse 

spacing

(meters)

Vertical error 

as RMSE(z)

(centimeters)

1 0.35 10

2 0.7 10

3 2.0 20

4 n/a 139

5 n/a 185