Now Available: USGS releases the 3D National Topography Model Call for Action - Part 1: The 3D Hydrography Program

The USGS has released the 3D National Topography Model Call for Action - Part 1: The 3D Hydrography Program. Built on high-resolution data from the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) is the first consistent, systematic remapping of the Nation's hydrography since the original 1:24:000-scale mapping program was active from 1947 to 1992.

The Call for Action outlines an ambitious nine-year vision to completely replace the Nation's surface water mapping, much of which is decades old and based on ground surveys, with highly accurate hydrography derived from 3DEP elevation data. In addition to the improved positional accuracy, 3DHP data will leverage a new data model based on the Open Geospatial Consortium Surface Hydrology Features (HYFeatures) conceptual model to deliver data to users as web mapping services. These web services will form the geospatial basis for sharing water resources data through the Internet of Water.

Hydrologically enforced digital elevation models (DEMs) will also be produced as part of the process of deriving hydrography from elevation data. These hydrologically enforced DEMs remove small obstructions in the flow surface, such as culverts, fallen trees, or other apparent obstructions, and are critical to applications like erosion modeling and flood plain management.

"The 3D Hydrography Program is an important step in moving from producing geospatial data to make maps to producing geospatial data to serve as digital infrastructure for science and resource management," said Dr. Michael Tischler, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program. "The 3DHP is being built so others across the community can leverage and share data to make better decisions."

Much like the 3DEP, 3DHP is designed as a community-wide effort, managed by the USGS. The proposed nine-year implementation would cost an estimated $685 million dollars that would be shared across Federal, state, Tribal, local, and other entities through partnerships for data acquisition.

More information on the 3DHP can be found at https://www.usgs.gov/3DHP. More information on the Internet of Water can be found at https://internetofwater.org/.