3DEP in California by the Numbers

Expected annual benefits $28.17 million 

Estimated total cost $52.87 million

Payback 1.9 years

Quality level 1 buy-up 

estimate

$33.63 million

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2013–3056

 November 2013

The 3D Elevation Program—Summary for California

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 California, elevation data are critical for 

infrastructure and construction management; natural resources conservation; 

flood risk management; wildfire management, planning, and response; agriculture 

and precision farming; geologic resource 

assessment and hazard mitigation; and 

other business uses. Today, high-quality 

light detection and ranging (lidar) data are 

the sources 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 California

The top 10 California business uses 

for 3D elevation data, which are based on 

the estimated annual conservative benefits 

of the 3DEP initiative, are shown in table 

1. The National Enhanced Elevation 

Assessment (NEAA; Dewberry, 2011) survey respondents in the State of California 

estimated that the national 3DEP initiative 

would result in at least $28 million in 

new benefits annually to the State. The 

cost for such a program in California is 

approximately $53 million, resulting in a 

payback period of 1.9 years and a benefitto-cost ratio of 4.3 to 1 over an 8-year 

period. Because monetary estimates were 

not provided for all reported benefits, the 

total benefits of the 3DEP to California 

are likely much higher. On the basis of the 

NEEA survey results, all levels of government and many organizations in California 

could benefit from access to statewide 

high-resolution elevation data.

The NEEA evaluated multiple 

data-collection options to determine the 

optimal data quality and data replacement 

cycle relative to cost to meet the stated 

needs. For California, approximately 

74 percent of the total benefits are realized in infrastructure and construction 

management; natural resources conservation; flood risk management; and wildfire 

management, planning, and response uses 

alone, as shown in table 1. The status of 

publicly available lidar data in California 

is shown in figure 1. By enhancing coordination between the 3DEP and the various 

government and private organizations in 

California, it may be possible to realize 

more than the cited conservative benefits. 

The following are examples of how 

3DEP data can support business uses in 

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.

Figure 1. Map of California showing the 

areal extent and quality levels of planned 

and existing publicly available light 

detection and ranging (lidar) data in August 

2013. Quality level 2 or better lidar data 

meet 3DEP requirements. See table 2 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 90 Kilometers

0 60 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, 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, USGS National 

Geospatial Program

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 511

Reston, VA 20192

Email: mdemulder@usgs.gov

Carol Ostergren, USGS Geospatial Liaison

3020 State University Drive East, Suite 3005

Sacramento, CA 95819

Email: costergren@usgs.gov

Drew Decker, USGS Geospatial Liaison

4165 Spruance Road, Suite 200

San Diego, CA 92101

Email: ddecker@usgs.gov

http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

By William J. Carswell, Jr.

California: (1) When lidar data are readily 

available, the need for traditional topographic land surveys (including infrastructure and construction site planning 

and estimating) is minimized. Reducing 

the time required for project planning 

provides a cost savings to the public. 

Lidar data can be used for preliminary 

highway alignment and design, estimating 

earthwork quantities, evaluating existing roadway conditions, and identifying 

needed safety projects. Enhanced elevation data helps to improve compliance 

with building and environmental regulations; enables the evaluation of numerous 

potential sites with a sufficient level of 

detail for decisionmaking; provides input 

to hydraulic modeling for the design of 

structures (bridges and culverts) to accommodate runoff and flooding from large 

rain events; and the integration with other 

data, such as geologic, engineering, and 

environmental data, to expedite project 

review and reduce cost. A statewide elevation dataset would facilitate communication and interoperability among Federal, 

State, regional, and local transportation 

organizations and foster cooperation at all 

levels of government. (2) Approximately 

27 percent of the land area of California 

is devoted to agricultural uses. Enhanced 

elevation data could dramatically improve 

precision farming (fig. 2). A more accurate 

depiction of the terrain could improve 

crop yields, prevent soil degradation, 

minimize groundwater usage, and reduce 

agricultural chemical runoff, helping 

farmers realize a larger return on their 

investments. (3) High-resolution elevation 

data informs fire behavior modeling, fire 

response, vegetation loads, and post-fire 

assessment for slope instability, leading to 

improved public safety.

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. Lidar data can help improve precision 

farming practices by providing microtopography 

information for crop planning based on soil 

conditions, microclimate, sun angle, drainage, and 

other factors. Photograph courtesy of Dino Bonos, 

Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and 

Open Space District; used with permission.

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

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

(Dewberry, 2011).

Rank Business use Annual benefits

(millions)

1 Infrastructure and construction management $8.37

2 Natural resources conservation 4.37

3 Flood risk management 4.22

4 Wildfire management, planning, and response 4.02

5 Agriculture and precision farming 2.01

6 Geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation 1.66

7 Coastal zone management 0.83

8 Sea level rise and subsidence 0.79

9 Forest resources management 0.75

10 Water supply and quality 0.70

Other 0.44

Total 28.16

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