3DEP in Puerto Rico by the Numbers

Expected annual benefits $0.53 million

Estimated total cost $2.22 million*

Payback 4.2 years

Quality level 1 buy-up 

estimate

 $1.50 million

 *USGS-estimated acquisition cost (2015)

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2015–3088

February 2016

The 3D Elevation Program—Summary for Puerto Rico

Introduction

Elevation data are essential to a broad 

range of applications, including forest resources 

management, wildlife and habitat management, 

scientific research, national security, recreation, 

and many others. For the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico, elevation data are critical for flood 

risk management, landslide mitigation, natural 

resources conservation, sea level rise and subsidence, coastal zone management, 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, U.S. territorial, 

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, Hawaii, and selected U.S. 

territories, and quality level 5 interferometric 

synthetic aperture radar (ifSAR) data (table 1) 

for Alaska, all 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 three-dimensional (3D) representations 

of the Nation’s natural and constructed features.

3D Elevation Program Benefits 

for Puerto Rico

The top 10 Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico estimated that the national 3DEP 

initiative would result in at least $0.53 million in 

new benefits annually to the Commonwealth. In 

2015, the cost for such a program was estimated 

at $2.22 million (Diane Eldridge, USGS, written 

commun., May 2015), resulting in a payback 

period of 4.2 years and a benefit/cost ratio of 1.9 

to 1 over an 8-year period. Because monetary 

estimates were not provided for several major 

reported benefits, the total benefits of the 3DEP 

to Puerto Rico are likely to be much higher. 

On the basis of the NEEA survey results, 

all levels of government and many organizations in Puerto Rico could benefit from access 

to Commonwealth-wide high-resolution 

elevation data.

For Puerto Rico, approximately 84 percent 

of the identified business use requirements will be 

met in flood risk management, natural resources 

conservation, sea level rise and subsidence, and 

coastal zone management uses, as shown in table 

2. The status of publicly available lidar data in 

Puerto Rico is shown in figure 1. Lidar with 

planned funding will be collected at quality 

level 2 to the extent possible, given limitations 

of current airborne lidar technology. The dense 

vegetation in parts of the islands may impact the 

accuracy over those areas.

By enhancing coordination between 

3DEP and various government and private 

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 highpriority cooperative program is 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, Tribal, U.S. 

territorial, and local governments.

• Higher quality data and national coverage—Ensure consistency for applications that span State, Tribal, U.S. 

territorial, and watershed boundaries 

and meet more needs, which results in 

increased benefits to citizens.

• Increase in Federal agency contributions—Reduces State, Tribal, 

U.S. territorial, and local partner 

contributions.

• Acquisition assistance—Provided 

through readily available contracts and 

published acquisition specifications.

Figure 1. Map of the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico showing existing and plannedwith-funding publicly available lidar data. 

Approximately 95 percent of the quality 

level 2 data is in the planned-with-funding 

category. Information source is the United 

States Interagency Elevation Inventory, 

fall 2015 (http://coast.noaa.gov/inventory/), 

which is updated annually. Quality level 2 or 

better lidar data meet 3DEP requirements. 

See table 1 for quality level information. 

EXPLANATION

Quality level 2 or 

better lidar data 0 20 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, U.S. territorial, 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:

Michael A. Tischler, Director

USGS National Geospatial Program

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 511

Reston, VA 20192

Email: 3DEP@usgs.gov

Louis Driber

The National Map Liaison 

2639 North Monroe Street, Suite A‒200

Tallahassee, FL 32303

Email: ldriber@usgs.gov

http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

By William J. Carswell, Jr.

organizations in Puerto Rico, 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 Puerto 

Rico: (1) Enhanced elevation data provide more 

accurate bare-earth digital elevation models to 

enable dynamic modeling efforts for a variety 

of critical topics, including water resources 

management and conservation, understanding 

risks from sea level rise and storm surges, and 

understanding the vulnerability of shallow tidalwater habitats to climate change. With improved 

elevation data and topographic maps, organizations can more effectively engage in detailed 

vulnerability planning and mitigation pertaining 

to coastal natural resources, buildings, transportation infrastructure, and cultural assets at risk 

from hurricanes (fig. 2), tsunamis, storm runoff, 

sea level rise, landslides, debris flows, and storm 

surge. Additionally, a more complete assessment 

of beach morphology and sand volume change 

could help identify sand budgets in decline, 

which pose threats in the form of increased 

erosion and endangerment of infrastructure, 

property, and lives. (2) An enhanced elevation 

dataset using the most current vertical datum 

(NAVD 88, GEOID 12B) would enable 

the generation of seamless bathymetry-totopography coastal coverage (emerged relief 

mesh) to support modeling of sea level rise, 

storm surge, and wave runup. 

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/fs20153088

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. Map showing the tracks of a sampling of hurricanes between 1852 and 1998 

that have affected Puerto Rico. Colors represent strength categories according to the 

Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Blue is category 1 (least intense); red is category 

5 (most intense). Arrowheads show direction of hurricane path. Large storms can have 

profound geomorphic (land-changing) consequences. Graphic by Sheila Murphy (USGS).

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data,

2011, 1:2,000,000

Map data modified from National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration Coastal Services Center, 2007

0

0

10 20 Kilometers

10 20 Miles

PUERTO RICO

C A R I B B E A N S E A

A T L A N T I C O C E A N

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

3DEP data identified in the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment for Puerto Rico 

(Dewberry, 2011).

Rank Business use Annual benefits

(thousands)

1 Flood risk management $163.78

2 Natural resources conservation 130.34

3 Sea level rise and subsidence 84.38

4 Coastal zone management 74.26

5 Infrastructure and construction management 42.85

6 Oil and gas resources 9.38

7 Land navigation and safety 8.40

8 Aviation navigation and safety 8.20

9 Geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation 7.12

10 Forest resources management 4.72

Other 3.41

Total 536.84

Table 1. Data quality levels and related 

accuracies for the 3D Elevation Program 

(3DEP) initiative as provided on page 6 in 

USGS Circular 1399 (http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/

cir1399 ). 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 1.4 20

4 n/a 139

5 n/a 185