3DEP in Massachusetts by the Numbers

Expected annual benefits $1.23 million 

Estimated total cost $2.71 million

Payback 2.2 years

Quality level 1 buy-up 

estimate

$1.72 million

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014–3055

August 2014

The 3D Elevation Program—Summary for Massachusetts

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 Commonwealth of 

Massachusetts, elevation data are critical for 

flood risk management, natural resources conservation, agriculture and precision farming, 

infrastructure and construction management, 

coastal zone 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 highquality topographic data and a wide range 

of other 3D representations of the Nation’s 

natural and constructed features.

3D Elevation Program Benefits 

for Massachusetts

The top 10 Massachusetts 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 Commonwealth of Massachusetts estimated that the 

national 3DEP initiative would result in at 

least $1.23 million in new benefits annually 

to the Commonwealth. The cost for such a 

program in Massachusetts is approximately 

$2.7 million, resulting in a payback period 

of 2.2 years and a benefit/cost ratio of 3.6 to 

1 over an 8-year period. Because monetary 

estimates were not provided for all reported 

benefits, the total benefits of the 3DEP to 

Massachusetts are likely much higher. On the 

basis of the NEEA survey results, all levels 

of government and many organizations in 

Massachusetts could benefit from access to 

statewide high-resolution elevation data.

For Massachusetts, approximately 75 

percent of the identified business use requirements will be met in flood risk management, 

natural resources conservation, agriculture 

and precision farming, and infrastructure and 

construction management uses, as shown in 

table 2. The status of publicly available lidar 

data in Massachusetts is shown in figure 1. 

By enhancing coordination between 3DEP 

and various government and private organizations in Massachusetts, it may be possible to 

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 Massachusetts 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

Quality level 4

or lower data

No publicly available

lidar data

0 30 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

Daniel H. Walters, 

 USGS Geospatial Liaison

196 Whitten Road

Augusta, ME 04330

Email: danwalters@usgs.gov

http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

By William J. Carswell, Jr.

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 Massachusetts: (1) 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. Lidar data 

support the identification of river corridors 

vulnerable to inundation and fluvial erosion, 

facilitating better river corridor and floodplain-management decisions and education 

of the public on true flood risks. Dynamic 

3D models that include lidar data provide 

more detailed information on the potential 

effects of flooding. (2) Climate change can 

have profound effects on the economy, public 

health, water resources, infrastructure, coastal 

resources, energy demand, natural features, 

and recreation. Lidar-derived digital elevation models and more accurate maps and 

surveys will help update current conditions, 

identify vulnerable natural features (fig. 2) 

and manmade facilities and structures, and 

improve the predictive capability of climate 

change models. A better understanding of the 

potential effects of climate change will help 

in developing strategies that minimize the 

anticipated effects. For example, infrastructure can be adapted to address climate change 

projections by adhering to maintenance 

schedules; building system redundancies; 

updating land use, siting, design, and building 

standards; using natural systems for enhanced 

protection; and increasing the resilience of 

infrastructure and the built environment.

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-NationalEnhancedElevation

Assessment.

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/fs20143055

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. The marshes of Plum Island Estuary 

near Rowley, Massachusetts, are among those 

predicted by scientists to become inundated 

during the next century based on conservative 

projections of sea-level rise. U.S. Geological 

Survey, Matthew Kirwin photographer.

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

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

Massachusetts (Dewberry, 2011).

Rank Business use Annual benefits

(millions)

1 Flood risk management $0.37

2 Natural resources conservation 0.34

3 Agriculture and precision farming 0.12

4 Infrastructure and construction management 0.09

5 Coastal zone management 0.08

6 Sea level rise and subsidence 0.08

7 Forest resources management 0.06

8 Aviation navigation and safety 0.04

9 Urban and regional planning 0.02

10 Geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation 0.02

Other 0.01

Total 1.23

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