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The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program
Review Version 7.0, 7/22/2021 2
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The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program
Review Version 7.0, 7/22/2021 3
Executive Summary 1
Topography is defined by terrain and water, each influencing and shaping the other. The USGS is responsible for 2
the topographic mapping of the United States and fulfills this in part by co-leading both the OMB A-16 Elevation 3
and Inland Water themes and managing the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and National Hydrography Datasets. 4
The 3D National Topography Model (3DNTM) is a new initiative that updates and integrates USGS elevation and 5
hydrography data and encodes these co-dependent topographic relationships into an integrated 3D model to 6
deliver higher-quality data and support improved geospatial analysis. The 3DNTM will enable analysis and 7
visualization for the broad range of the Nation’s environmental, climate, and infrastructure applications. The 3D 8
National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program lays out a new vision for the 9
Nation’s topographic data, with a focus on its inland waters. It will be followed by a next generation 3DEP report 10
to address the need to keep terrain data current and to extend the surface model to include bathymetry. 11
Fresh water is a vital natural resource, essential for the health of communities and ecosystems and critical for 12
agriculture, industry, and commerce. Availability of fresh water is increasingly strained by the demands and 13
impacts of natural and human-caused events. A complex web of U.S. water policy charges Federal agencies with 14
monitoring, regulating, managing, allocating, and protecting our surface waters. Modernizing America’s Water 15
Resource Management and Water Infrastructure (Executive Order 13956 2020) establishes an Interagency 16
Water Subcabinet and directs, among other actions, that improvements be made to water data management, 17
research, modeling, and forecasting. As resources become limited or compromised in other ways, technologies 18
must evolve to respond to the needs of the 21st century. Comprehensive, detailed, and accurate mapping, as 19
well as an information infrastructure for sharing and discovering water-related information, are essential to 20
meeting these requirements. 21
The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program makes recommendations 22
for modernizing hydrography mapping nationwide by establishing the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP). The 23
3DHP will build on more than 20 years of experience developing and managing the National Hydrography 24
Datasets which have been integral to a wide range of mission-critical activities undertaken and managed by 25
government entities at all levels, nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and private companies. 26
To determine the optimal path forward, the USGS examined three possible future 3DHP scenarios and assessed 27
the potential benefits that could be achieved. Scenarios were based on the 2016 National Hydrography 28
Requirements and Benefits Study (HRBS) that documented current and emerging requirements for hydrography 29
data across a diverse group of stakeholders. The USGS recommends implementing a scenario that will 30
potentially produce $509 million in new annual benefits in addition to the current hydrography data annual user 31
benefits estimated in HRBS to be $538 million, totaling more than an estimated $1 billion in benefits every year 32
in addition to unquantified societal benefits. More importantly, decisions that directly affect water quality, 33
water availability, and the livelihood of all living things will be better informed through the development of the 34
3D Hydrography Program. 35
The new 3DHP Datasets will include a 3D stream network derived from 3DEP data including waterbodies, 36
hydrologic units, hydrologically conditioned digital elevation models, and related attributes that bring a new 37
level of consistency and accuracy. The stream network will include elevation values to enable 3D analysis of the 38
data. The 3DHP will update and improve the consistency of the geospatial features and vastly improve the ability 39
to connect to other data such as wetlands, engineered hydrologic systems, and groundwater. 3DHP will develop 40
and implement a modernized operational system and schema for the stream network and hydrologic unit data 41
using open standards. 42
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While vast amounts of water-related data, such as stream temperature, water quality, and fisheries data, exist 43
across the country, the Nation lacks a means of efficiently sharing that information. The 3DHP Infostructure, an 44
information infrastructure for water-related data, will underpin the Internet of Water by providing the means to 45
share and discover water-related data within the context of the 3DHP Datasets. The 3DHP Infostructure will be 46
designed as a web-based collaborative and open system. It will include tools to enable users to share water-47
related data as web-based map services, and search and discovery tools that can be implemented in web portals 48
to discover that data by searching throughout the 3DHP stream network. 49
The recommended 3DHP scenario represents a nine-year effort starting in FY2022 with moderate growth for 50
FY2023 and accelerated growth in subsequent years. For the proposed operational program to be fully realized, 51
a $676 million investment across all partners will be required between FY2022 and FY2030, including one year of 52
program preparation, six years of active data acquisition, and two additional years to complete data inspection 53
and processing after the acquisition period. 54
The 3DHP will be guided by an executive level committee and through a working group of subject matter experts 55
and managers from partner agencies. Outreach will be a primary aspect of the program, which is dependent on 56
a broad base of support and participation from Federal agencies, State, local and Tribal governments, and other 57
stakeholders. Outreach will be directed toward building support and a funding base to move the program 58
forward. As with 3DEP, data will be acquired through contracting with the private sector and funding for 3DHP 59
will rely heavily on partnership contributions. A key component of the strategy is to increase funding to a level 60
that allows the program partners to implement a directed national acquisition strategy without compromising 61
the mission needs of individual partners. 62
This report is a “Call for Action”. The public and private sectors that depend on high-quality water data have 63
expressed the need for better, more accessible information to answer the most demanding water resource 64
management questions. USGS proposes to work with partners to share the costs of a new program that will 65
address these needs in as little as nine years, assuming the funds are available to complete the work. The 3D 66
National Hydrography Program marks the beginning of a new era to perform the first comprehensive update for 67
all hydrography features in the United States and U.S. Territories since they were transferred from paper 68
topographic maps to digital form. The program also proposes to implement a common Infostructure for 69
managing and easily accessing water information across the community. The return on investment is significant. 70
The need to implement the 3D National Hydrography Program to support better water resources decisions 71
cannot be overstated. 72
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Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................3 73
Figures ........................................................................................................................................................................6 74
Tables ..........................................................................................................................................................................6 75
Conversion Factors .....................................................................................................................................................6 76
Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................................................7 77
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................8 78
3D National Topography Model – An Overview .........................................................................................................8 79
3DNTM Development Tracks..................................................................................................................................9 80
Track 1 | Complete Nationwide Elevation and Hydrography Baseline Datasets .............................................................. 10 81
Track 2 | Pilot Integration of Hydrography and Elevation ................................................................................................ 12 82
Track 3 | Design and Implement the Next Generation Integrated Data ........................................................................... 13 83
Track 4 | Research and Implement 3D Data Model .......................................................................................................... 14 84
The Next Generation of the Hydrography Program – A Call for Action .................................................................. 14 85
Current National Hydrography Products and Services ........................................................................................ 15 86
Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study ................................................................................................. 17 87
Potential Program Scenarios ............................................................................................................................... 21 88
3D Hydrography Program ........................................................................................................................................ 24 89
A New Approach to Water Data .......................................................................................................................... 25 90
Building the Program ........................................................................................................................................... 26 91
Project Schedule and Milestones ...................................................................................................................................... 26 92
Leadership ......................................................................................................................................................................... 27 93
Planning and Partnerships ................................................................................................................................................ 28 94
Outreach and Communications ........................................................................................................................................ 32 95
Growth .............................................................................................................................................................................. 33 96
Building the 3DHP Datasets and Infostructure.................................................................................................... 35 97
3DHP Datasets Overview .................................................................................................................................................. 35 98
3DHP Infostructure Conceptualization ............................................................................................................................. 40 99
Data Acquisition Contracts and Specifications .................................................................................................................. 42 100
Data Validation and Acceptance ....................................................................................................................................... 43 101
Operations and Production Planning and Development .................................................................................................. 43 102
Research Requirements .................................................................................................................................................... 44 103
Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................................. 45 104
References Cited ...................................................................................................................................................... 47 105
Appendix 1. Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study Summary Tables ..................................................... 49 106
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Figures Figure 1. The 3D National Topography Model (3DNTM)......................................................................................... 10 107
Figure 2. Map of status of 3DEP data collections .................................................................................................... 11 108
Figure 3. Map of status of NHDPlus HR datasets .................................................................................................... 12 109
Figure 4. Comparison of three possible implementation scenarios of 3DHP ......................................................... 22 110
Figure 5. Comparison of annual costs and benefits possible 3DHP implementation scenarios ............................. 24 111
Figure 6. Hydrologic Units showing total annual benefits per square mile for Scenario 2 ..................................... 29 112
Figure 7. Overview of 3DHP roles ............................................................................................................................ 31 113
Figure 8. Potential cost of a nine-year 3DHP program-of-work .............................................................................. 34 114
Figure 9. Graph of one possible funding model for the 3DHP ................................................................................ 35 115
Figure 10. 3DHP Infostructure conceptual model ................................................................................................... 41 116
Figure 11. Overview of the proposed 3DHP data acquisition process .................................................................... 42 117
Tables Table 1. Annual benefits of elevation and water data ...............................................................................................9 118
Table 2. Mission Critical Activities and dollar benefits ............................................................................................ 17 119
Table 3. Estimated current and future benefits ...................................................................................................... 19 120
Table 4. Requirements for improved hydrography ................................................................................................. 19 121
Table 5. Basic requirements for improved hydrography......................................................................................... 20 122
Table 6. Data integration between USGS hydrography and other data types ........................................................ 21 123
Table 7. Implementation milestones for 3DHP ....................................................................................................... 27 124
Table 8. Target audiences for outreach and communications ................................................................................ 33 125
Table 9. Key content and capabilities to be supported by 3DHP Datasets ............................................................. 37 126
Table 10. Research requirements for 3DHP ............................................................................................................ 45 127
Conversion Factors International System of Units to U.S. customary units 128
Multiply By To obtain Length
meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) meter (m) 1/0.3048 International foot (ft) meter (m) 1.094 yard (yd) kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)
Area
hectare 2.471 acre square meter (m2) 0.0002471 acre square meter (m2) 10.76 square foot (ft2)
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Abbreviations 129
3DEP 3D Elevation Program 130
3DHP 3D Hydrography Program 131
3DNTM 3D National Topography Model 132
API Application Programming Interface 133
BAA Broad Agency Announcement 134
BU Business Use 135
CE Circular Error statistic 136
CWA Clean Water Act 137
DEM Digital Elevation Model 138
EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 139
FGDC Federal Geographic Data Committee 140
GIS Geographic Information System 141
GPSC Geospatial Product and Service Contracts 142
HEM Hydrography Event Management 143
HRBS Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study 144
IfSAR Interferometric synthetic aperture radar 145
IoW Internet of Water 146
MCA Mission Critical Activity 147
NEEA National Enhanced Elevation Assessment 148
NGDA National Geospatial Data Asset 149
NGP National Geospatial Program 150
NHD National Hydrography Dataset 151
NHDPlus National Hydrography Dataset Plus 152
NHDPlus HR National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution 153
NHI National Hydrography Infrastructure 154
NLDI Network-Linked Data Index 155
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 156
NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service 157
NSGIC National States Geographic Information Council 158
NWI National Wetlands Inventory 159
NWIS National Water Information System 160
OGC Open Geospatial Consortium 161
OMB Office of Management and Budget 162
TNM The National Map 163
USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 164
USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture 165
USFS U.S. Forest Service 166
USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 167
USGS U.S. Geological Survey 168
USIEI U.S. Interagency Elevation Inventory 169
USIHI U.S. Interagency Hydrography Inventory 170
WBD Watershed Boundary Dataset 171
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Introduction 172
Topography is defined by terrain and water, each influencing and shaping the other. The 3D National 173
Topography Model (3DNTM) is a new initiative that updates and integrates USGS elevation and hydrography 174
data and encodes these co-dependent topographic relationships into an integrated 3D model to deliver higher-175
quality data and support improved geospatial analysis. The USGS is responsible for the topographic mapping of 176
the United States and fulfills this in part by co-leading both the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 177
Circular A-16 Elevation and Inland Water themes and managing the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and National 178
Hydrography Datasets. 179
3DNTM development is based on an outgrowth of the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (NEEA; 180
Dewberry 2012), Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study (HRBS; Dewberry 2016), and the 3D Nation 181
Elevation Requirements and Benefits Study (in progress) that call for a more integrated approach for managing 182
data and provisioning information to support business requirements at all levels of government, the private 183
sector, and by Tribes. The 3DNTM will provide the foundation for critical applications and underpin Clean Water 184
Act implementation and emerging water management information needs. It will better support the National 185
Water Model, National Water Census, drought forecasts, and water availability. It will also enhance natural 186
resource management, wildfire mitigation, infrastructure development, and other applications of mapped 3D 187
features. 3DNTM will enable analysis and visualization for the Nation’s day-to-day management needs and will 188
inform a broad range of applications and emerging U.S. policies such as environmental, climate, and 189
infrastructure applications. 190
The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program lays out a new vision for the 191
Nation’s topographic data, with a focus on its inland waters. U.S. water policy seeks a more integrated approach 192
to support the complex relationships that make up the hydrologic cycle while understanding water use, quality, 193
and quantity available for a healthy environment. Within this context, the 3D National Topography Model Call 194
for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program makes recommendations for modernizing hydrography mapping 195
nationwide by establishing the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP). 196
The 3DHP will build on more than 20 years of experience developing and managing the National Hydrography 197
Datasets which have been integral to a wide range of mission-critical activities undertaken and managed by 198
government entities at all levels, nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and private companies. 3DHP aims to 199
significantly improve the level of detail, currency, and accuracy of hydrography data across the Nation; to better 200
account for the hydrologic cycle by linking to engineered hydrologic systems, wetlands, and groundwater 201
information; and to establish an information infrastructure, or infostructure, to support sharing and discovering 202
water-related information in the context of the improved hydrography data. 203
The 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) and 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) are key components of the 3DNTM 204
vision. 3DEP and 3DHP will be managed as companion programs where the co-dependent components of terrain 205
and water data will be integrated to support the production of higher-quality data and improved geospatial 206
analysis. This document is the first report to address the advancement of the 3DNTM and will be followed by a 207
next generation 3DEP report to address the need to keep terrain data current and to extend the surface model 208
to include bathymetry. 209
3D National Topography Model – An Overview 210
The requirements for an integrated approach for managing elevation and hydrography data became apparent 211
when the NEEA and HRBS revealed common requirements for high-quality elevation and hydrography data 212
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across multiple disciplines. Elevation and hydrography requirements were assessed for 27 Business Uses (BUs) in 213
the NEEA and 25 BUs in the HRBS and summarized for eight broad user communities. When the information 214
requirements are merged, the potential benefits for an integrated hydrography and elevation program are 215
$2.322 billion per year (Table 1) if all documented needs are met. 216
The 3DNTM will provide foundational data to meet the most demanding scientific requirements and enable 217
data-driven decisions across user communities. The information requirements or products needed for each of 218
the user communities vary significantly by content, positional accuracy, and geography; however, when 420 219
mission critical activities (MCAs) from the HRBS and 600 MCAs from the NEEA were examined from these user 220
communities, there was a clear set of core requirements that can be most cost-effectively met with high-quality 221
nationwide elevation and hydrography data. While specialized products will support each of the user 222
communities, sound decisions are best supported by hydrography and elevation data of common lineage. 223
Primary Business Drivers for a 3D National Topography Model (3DNTM), consolidated from the NEEA and the HRBS
Estimated Total Elevation and Hydrography Current and
Future Annual Benefits in US $ millions
Water quality, supply, planning, management, and stream flow $949.5
Flood risk and coastal zone management, sea level rise $473.4
Natural resources conservation, wildlife, and ecosystem management $278.5
Agriculture, forest, rangeland, and wildfire $254.8
Regional planning, infrastructure, and construction management $226.4
Geologic resources, hazard mitigation, oil, and gas $65.9
Homeland security, aviation safety, disaster response $50.6
Renewable energy $13.5
Other $9.4
Total Current and Potential Annual Benefits $2,322.0
Table 1. Annual benefits from the use of elevation and water data as identified by participants in the National Enhanced Elevation 224 Assessment (NEEA) and the Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study (HRBS) for Mission Critical Activities (MCAs). 225
[For benefits identified as a range, the lower end of estimated current and future benefits is represented. The Primary Business Drivers are 226 a result of consolidating 27 Business Uses (BU) from NEEA and 25 BUs from HRBS. The monetary benefits are associated with specific 227 MCAs and represent the benefits quantified by study participants. In addition, other societal benefits were identified in the study and are 228 not represented in this summary table. Note that the benefits were merged from independent assessments for elevation data and for 229 hydrography data. While the authors have made every attempt to validate these results, some benefits may have been included in both 230 studies. Definitions: dollars, constant 2012 dollars (NEEA) and constant 2016 dollars (HRBS). Table modified from Sugarbaker and others 231 (2014, p. 7, Table 2) and Dewberry (2016, p. 16, Table 6] 232
3DNTM Development Tracks 233
There are four overlapping 3DNTM development tracks. Key elements of the 3DNTM are in place or under 234
development. The 3DNTM includes the new 3DHP, and the current and next generation of 3DEP. Later 235
development phases of the 3DNTM will include a transition to a 3D data model and additional topographic 236
datasets of The National Map (TNM) managed by the USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP). 237
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238
Figure 1. The 3D National Topography Model (3DNTM) is a vision for an integrated 3D model of elevation and hydrography data that will 239 support environmental, climate change, and infrastructure applications. It responds to changing U.S. policy and will support Federal, 240 State, local, and other stakeholder needs. 241
Track 1 | Complete Nationwide Elevation and Hydrography Baseline Datasets 242
The first development track of the 3DNTM is to complete baseline elevation and hydrography datasets. The 3D 243
Elevation Program (3DEP) planning began in 2014, and the first full year of 3DEP production began in 2016 with 244
a goal to complete nationwide collections of lidar (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, or IfSAR, in Alaska) 245
over an eight-year period. While the plan was bold, the program has been highly successful. At the end of 246
Federal Fiscal Year 2020, 3DEP data was available or in progress for 78% of the Nation. 3DEP is nearing its 247
original goal to complete nationwide acquisition in 2023. However, based on current funding, the program is on 248
track to meet the national acquisition goal by 2026 (Figure 2). Aside from the USGS commitment to complete 249
the 3DEP baseline, success can be attributed to the importance of the data to the broader community, and the 250
resulting partnerships with Federal agencies, 50 States, Tribes, and the private sector. The program is yielding 251
many benefits through a wide range of applications that rely on lidar and elevation-derived products. 252
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253
Figure 2. Map of the United States showing the status of 3DEP data collections. The dark green areas have initial coverage of Quality Level 254 2 (QL2) or better lidar. The light green areas are planned and in progress in Fiscal Year 2021. The cream-colored areas represent areas 255 that will be acquired in ensuing years. 256
[Map shows geographic extent of existing and in-progress 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) data acquisition projects. FY20 projects are the 257 result of partnership projects awarded through the FY20 3DEP Broad Area Announcement (BAA) and through ongoing Federal 258 coordination via the 3DEP Working Group. 3DEP specifications include Quality Level 2 (QL2) or better lidar data (IfSAR in Alaska) that are 259 publicly available. Lidar QL2 data must adhere to the USGS Lidar Base Specification 1.2 or better to be included in 3DEP data holdings.] 260 Source: 3DEP. U.S. Interagency Elevation Inventory (USIEI) data from 2020.] 261
The second component of the 3DNTM baseline data track is to complete the National Hydrography Dataset Plus 262
High Resolution (NHDPlus HR) for the Nation. NHDPlus HR provides a national geospatial model of the water 263
flowing across the landscape and through the stream network. The NHDPlus HR is built using inputs from the 264
National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD), and 10-meter resolution (1/3 Arc-265
second) 3DEP data (5-meter in Alaska). The NHDPlus HR framework links the hydrologic network to the 266
landscape by including streams and the associated elevation-derived catchment areas that drain to each stream 267
segment. This association allows information such as slope or land cover, to be related to characteristics of the 268
stream network such as water quality samples, stream gage measurements, or fish distribution. The result is 269
that causes and effects may be studied using a single hydrography data framework. NHDPlus HR was completed 270
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in 2020 for the conterminous U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and 271
American Samoa. Work began in FY21 to update NHDPlus HR in areas for which improved input data are 272
available. Continued updates are planned to incorporate data improvements over time. NHDPlus HR production 273
is underway in Alaska, with an estimated completion in FY31 (Figure 3). 274
275
Figure 3. Map of the United States showing the status of the NHDPlus HR development activity. Areas in Canada and Mexico are included 276 in NHDPlus HR production to cover entire drainage areas to create a complete information framework for analysis. 277
Track 2 | Pilot Integration of Hydrography and Elevation 278
High-resolution elevation models derived from 3DEP lidar or IfSAR that more accurately depict the terrain can be 279
used to produce high quality hydrography that aligns to the elevation data and is encoded with elevation values. 280
This approach to creating new hydrography features improves level of detail from the region to the 281
neighborhood and farm-level. Pilot projects to update the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) using elevation 282
data have been highly successful, and new hydrography features are now being developed from IfSAR-derived 5-283
meter digital elevation models (DEMs) in Alaska. Through the pilots, USGS has developed specifications (Terziotti 284
and others, 2018; Terziotti and Archuleta, 2020; Archuleta and Terziotti, 2020) for deriving surface water 285
features from 3DEP data. The process uses a 1-meter bare-earth DEM derived from lidar to create new 286
hydrography features. 287
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A second set of pilots focused on integrating hydrography and elevation is being undertaken to understand the 288
collection, integration, and publication of inland bathymetry data. 3DEP is using airborne topobathymetric lidar, 289
where appropriate, to map submerged topography in rivers and has begun commercially contracting a small 290
number of topobathymetric lidar surveys. The lidar survey areas have been chosen where there are immediate 291
science applications for the data (i.e. endangered species habitat restoration, dam removal studies, etc.), and to 292
represent a diversity of riverine environments. The results of lidar surveys of rivers are helping USGS develop 293
recommendations on collection parameters for inland water bodies related to river bottom type, albedo, water 294
turbidity, and depth. USGS is also integrating topographic lidar, topobathymetric lidar, and sonar data (to fill 295
gaps where the water is too deep or turbid to detect the river bottom) to create merged, continuous 296
topobathymetric digital elevation models for a small number of rivers and lakes. 297
USGS and partners from several universities and State and local governments are building a prototype system to 298
mitigate flood risk in southeast Texas (Figure 5). A stream network and hydrologic units are being created from 299
1-meter lidar derived DEMs, and new methods are being used to integrate bathymetric data with terrestrial 300
DEMs to also enhance the collection and analysis of water data. Existing topographic lidar data are being merged 301
with topobathymetric lidar and bathymetric sonar data to create a seamless terrain model above and below the 302
water. The resulting model will be used to improve flood inundation and timing predictions. This research serves 303
as a more comprehensive pilot of the 3DNTM concept of integrating elevation and hydrography, and will be 304
used to advance the 3DNTM concept of a fully integrated 3D model in the future. 305
Track 3 | Design and Implement the Next Generation Integrated Data 306
As the 3DEP goal to produce a consistent baseline dataset nears completion, plans have begun for the next 307
generation of 3DEP. USGS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been working 308
toward a vision to map a 3D Nation from the peaks of the mountains to the depths of our waters. A forthcoming 309
3D Nation Elevation Requirements and Benefits Study report from NOAA and USGS will update user 310
requirements for topographic, coastal, and bathymetric 3D elevation data for all areas of the U.S., including 311
offshore. The goal is to complete the study by the end of Fiscal Year 2021, and by the end of Fiscal Year 2022 312
produce the 3DNTM Call for Action Part 2 to lay out the design for the next generation of 3DEP. The report will 313
inform strategies to: 314
• Provide a continuous elevation surface that includes bathymetry; 315
• Collect new data based on landscape change; and 316
• Adopt new data collection technologies. 317
The 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) will operationalize the production of a new generation of hydrography 318
data derived from lidar (IfSAR in Alaska). 3DHP products will enable better accounting of the hydrologic cycle by 319
enabling 3DHP connections to groundwater modeling, engineered hydrologic systems, and wetlands data. The 320
USGS has been prototyping the National Hydrography Infrastructure (NHI) to improve water information 321
management, accessibility, and analysis by enabling the management and discovery of water-related data in the 322
context of the stream network. Under the 3DHP, the NHI will become the 3DHP Infostructure, an information 323
infrastructure an information, to provide an authoritative mechanism for sharing and discovering water 324
information nationwide in the context of the 3DHP Datasets stream network. The majority of this document is 325
focused on explaining the development of the 3DHP. 326
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Track 4 | Research and Implement 3D Data Model 327
A new 3D data model will integrate the interrelated elements of terrain and surface water data. The 3D data 328
model development track has two goals: 1) research and develop an integrated 3D model for future 329
implementation, and 2) integrate additional layers of TNM into the 3D model. Research related to integrated 3D 330
models is needed to address several key elements: 331
• 3D representation models to include links to subsurface and atmospheric features and models. 332
• Data model design to support temporal change analysis. 333
• Improvements to 3D visualization of TNM products and services (e.g., 3D Topo, street view, and 3D 334
features like overpasses, bridges, tunnels, etc.). 335
• Technologies to enable integration of TNM layers in near real time. 336
• Generalization and multi-scale mapping techniques that preserve terrain features including surface 337
water, landforms, and infrastructure. 338
• High-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning techniques to handle large 339
data volume analysis and feature extraction. 340
• Defining uncertainty for areas with multiple data sources, collection technologies, and geospatial 341
accuracies. 342
The Next Generation of the Hydrography Program – A Call for Action 343
Fresh water is a vital natural resource, essential for the health of communities and ecosystems and critical for 344
agriculture, industry, and commerce. As the climate changes, so does the effect of storms and resulting floods 345
on human existence. Human populations are increasing, and the water needed to support us is compromised. 346
Availability of fresh water is increasingly strained by the demands and impacts of natural and human-caused 347
events. Too much water in the wrong place is also a problem. In 2019 348
alone, the combined cost of flooding in the Missouri, Arkansas, and 349
Mississippi River basins was $20 billion (Smith, 2020). Information about 350
water is fundamental to national and local economic well-being, protection 351
of life and property, and effective management of the Nation’s water 352
resources (U.S. Geological Survey, 2020). 353
Today, water information is comprised of a collection of datasets that are 354
managed by multiple Federal agencies in partnership with State and local 355
governments. While the datasets have evolved over time (Dewald, 2017), 356
the requirements for water information have changed such that water data 357
need to be improved and made more readily available. Reliable and 358
accurate high-resolution maps of the Nation’s waters are critical inputs to 359
models and decision support systems used to predict risk and enable 360
response to water resource impacts. It is important to know where the 361
water is and how it relates to features beyond the stream network such as 362
forests, cities, and infrastructure. An up-to-date, high-resolution national 363
hydrography framework is required to support these needs, and a 364
standardized system for managing and discovering water-related 365
information is essential. 366
What is an
Infostructure?
An “infostructure” is a technical
infrastructure supporting an
information system.
They are systems and processes
of how information is consumed,
managed, and shared
The 3DHP Infostructure is an
information infrastructure
specific to data about to water
that supports searching in the
context of the stream network.
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A complex web of U.S. water policy charges Federal agencies with monitoring, regulating, managing, allocating, 367
and protecting our waters whether they exist in aquifers, in our rivers and lakes, in the atmosphere and oceans, 368
in our fresh water drinking systems, or as a part of our network of protected areas. The Clean Water Act (CWA) 369
establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and 370
regulating quality standards for surface waters. Modernizing America’s Water Resource Management and Water 371
Infrastructure (Executive Order 13956 2020) establishes an Interagency Water Subcabinet and directs, among 372
other actions, that improvements be made to water data management, research, modeling, and forecasting. As 373
resources become limited or compromised in other ways, technologies must evolve to respond to the needs of 374
the 21st century. 375
The USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conducted 376
the Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study (HRBS; Dewberry, 2016) to document the needs of 21 377
Federal agencies, 50 States and Washington, DC, many local governments, Tribes, and select private entities for 378
improved water information. This report documents the results of that study and makes specific 379
recommendations to modernize hydrography mapping nationwide by establishing the 3D Hydrography Program. 380
This includes improving on the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD), 381
and the National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR). In addition, the data need to be 382
linked to and interoperable with other national datasets such as the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI), 383
National Water Information System (NWIS), groundwater models, and other important datasets. 384
When implemented, it is estimated that the 3DHP would enable more than $1 billion in benefits every year, in 385
addition to unquantified societal benefits. More importantly, decisions that directly affect water quality, water 386
availability, and the livelihood of all living things would be better informed. The next generation of surface water 387
mapping under the new 3DHP will incorporate the most relevant and impactful components of the existing 388
hydrography data and accomplish major spatial accuracy improvements. The program will not only focus on 389
hydrography mapping; it will also expand functionality to support the Nation’s most pressing water resource 390
needs by implementing the 3DHP Infostructure, an information infrastructure to share and discover water-391
related data in the context of the 3DHP Datasets stream network. 392
The HRBS provided a comprehensive assessment of Federal and State government needs for improved 393
hydrography that are directly informing 3DHP development. It identified requirements to link to other water 394
datasets such as the National Wetlands Inventory and also signaled that hydrography data need to be more 395
spatially accurate, better aligned to elevation data, and kept more current. Current hydrography datasets have 396
already begun to evolve in response to the user needs identified in the HRBS, and USGS initiated the National 397
Hydrography Infrastructure (NHI) to improve sharing, searching, and discovery of water data to support the user 398
requirements identified in the HRBS, as well as through partner channels such as the NHI Working Group. USGS 399
and partners will take the concepts and previous efforts developed through the NHI and further develop them 400
to implement the 3DHP Infostructure. 401
Current National Hydrography Products and Services 402
USGS National Hydrography Datasets, including NHD, WBD, and NHDPlus HR, have for many years been integral 403
to a wide range of mission-critical activities undertaken and managed by government entities at all levels, 404
nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and private companies. Hydrography data make it possible for users to 405
efficiently: 406
• Manage water such as stream flow and stormwater 407
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• Monitor, manage, and report water quality 408
• Assess water availability and water rights 409
• Model and map flood risk 410
• Conserve terrestrial and aquatic habitats 411
• Manage fisheries, rangeland, timberlands, and agricultural lands 412
• Assess coastal hazards 413
• Plan for future land development activities and infrastructure development 414
• Manage riverine and coastal navigation and safety 415
• Provide recreational opportunities for citizens 416
417
The NHD and WBD map the Nation’s surface water network and hydrologic drainage areas. The NHD, generally 418
mapped at 1:24,000 scale or more detailed (1:63,360 or more detailed in Alaska), represents the Nation’s rivers, 419
streams, canals, lakes, ponds, and related features. The WBD represents drainage areas of the country as six 420
nested levels of hydrologic units. These data are designed to be used in general mapping and in the analysis of 421
surface water systems. They are combined with other data themes such as elevation, boundaries, and 422
transportation to produce the USGS US Topo map series and other general-purpose maps. In addition to 423
providing water information for mapping, the NHD and WBD are used in scientific analysis and research, and the 424
WBD is often used as the reporting unit for environmental studies and compliance reporting The NHD provides a 425
network that supports routing analysis for contaminant transport and dispersion models, sediment transport, 426
and other types of analyses in which the flow network configuration is important. The WBD is often used as the 427
reporting unit for environmental studies and compliance reporting. Related data, such as water quality 428
information and fish observations, can be referenced to locations on this network in a manner similar to street 429
addresses, with the WBD providing areas similar to ZIP codes for water information. 430
The NHD and WBD are updated and maintained through a community of data stewards who have local 431
knowledge about the streams where they live and work. Currently, forty-one states and the District of Columbia 432
have signed stewardship Memorandums of Agreement, with both Federal and state agencies participating. 433
While stewardship has been a highly effective means to engage users with local knowledge, the disparate needs 434
of stewards have resulted in the NHD becoming nationally inconsistent. 435
The NHD and WBD have been recognized as Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) National Geospatial 436
Data Assets (NGDA) of the Inland Water Theme based on the qualifications established by the OMB Circular A-16 437
and are critical components of the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), (OMB, 2002). USGS and the 438
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) co-lead the FGDC NGDA Water-Inland Theme, which enhances 439
coordination between geospatial datasets that pertain to inland hydrologic features and related infrastructure, 440
including the NHD, WBD, NWI, National Inventory of Dams, and National Levee Database. The agencies who 441
manage these datasets work to identify opportunities to strengthen their partnership, including those that 442
optimize dataset development and cost-sharing efficiencies. 443
USGS began producing NHDPlus HR datasets in 2017 using 3DEP 10-meter (5-meter in Alaska) DEMs, the 444
1:24,000-scale or more detailed NHD, and the WBD as input datasets. Modeled after the medium-resolution 445
NHDPlus at 1:100,000-scale created in 2012, this product supports hydrologic modeling across landscapes and 446
through the stream network. In addition to leveraging the surface water network and addressing capabilities of 447
the NHD and the WBD hydrologic unit reporting system, NHDPlus HR includes continuous local drainage areas 448
known as catchments (Buto and Anderson, 2020). These catchments are used to associate landscape 449
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characteristics such as precipitation, temperature, and runoff data with each stream segment. This association 450
enables the calculation of streamflow estimates, evaluation of landscape effects on aquatic habitats, prediction 451
of flood events, and estimation of water quality in un-gaged streams. 452
NHDPlus HR supports scientific research by enabling hydrologic modeling and connecting information from the 453
surrounding landscape to the stream network. It also provides a consistent modeling framework to gain a better 454
understanding of water quality and contaminant transport in the Nation’s streams. NHDPlus HR is currently 455
available for 86 percent of the U.S. with completion of the conterminous U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin 456
Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa in 2020 and updates starting in FY21. NHDPlus 457
HR production has begun in Alaska and will continue throughout the 2020s. 458
Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study 459
The National Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study (HRBS; Dewberry, 2016) was conducted to 460
understand current and emerging requirements and future potential benefits for hydrography data, to assess 461
how well existing hydrography data were meeting those needs, and to understand how hydrography data are 462
used with other water-related data. The study gathered basic information about the water information needs of 463
21 Federal agencies, all 50 States, Washington, DC, and American Samoa. In addition, a sample of 53 local and 464
regional government organizations, eight Tribal governments, 14 private companies, four associations, and 20 465
other non-profit organizations were included in the study. The study was conducted in two major phases. First, 466
participating organizations invited individuals representing various programs within their organization to take a 467
survey to identify Mission Critical Activities (MCAs) and associated water information requirements, and benefits 468
(Table 2) that might be achieved if all their needs could be met. The survey results were then compiled, and 469
workshops for each organization vetted and consolidated MCAs into a set of organization-wide requirements. 470
Organization Type
Total Number
of MCAs
Estimated Annual
Program Budget in US
$ millions
Estimated Current Annual
Benefits in US $ millions
Estimated Future Annual Benefits in US
$ millions
Federal Agencies and Commissions (21 agencies) 54 $11,584.65 $212.35 $308.48
State Government (50 States, Washington, DC, American Samoa)
237 $6,523.41 $184.62 $244.73
Regional, County, City, or Other Local Government (sample size 53)
80 $282.70 $137.03 $19.74
Not-for-Profit (sample size 20) 25 $73.68 $3.02 $27.23
Private or Commercial (sample size 14) 16 $7.47 $1.28 $2.13
Tribal Government (sample size 8) 8 $1.11 $0.21 $0.24
Total 420 $18,473.01 $538.50 $602.55
Table 2. Total number of Mission Critical Activities (MCAs) in the HRBS in 2016 and associated dollar benefits that could be realized if all 471 requirements for water information could be met. The results are summarized by organization type. 472
[Each surveyed organization may have one or many MCAs that through a survey and vetting process, resulted in 420 MCAs across all 473 organizations. For water information, both current and estimated future benefits were identified. In addition, not represented here, 474 societal benefits were identified by the survey participants. These estimates are conservative as many MCAs do not have identified dollar 475 benefits. All benefits are in 2016 constant dollars. Table modified from Dewberry (2016, p. 14, Table 5)] 476
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The participants estimated the benefits currently realized from existing hydrography data for each MCA and the 477
potential benefits that could be realized if all hydrography data requirements were met. Study participants 478
documented program budgets to provide context for dollar investments that are made in each MCA. The 420 479
MCAs identified in the study were categorized into 25 broad Business Uses (BUs), with benefits identified for 24 480
total BUs. In addition to dollar benefits, qualitative benefits were documented for education and public safety, 481
the environment, and the potential to save human lives. A summary of the current and potential future benefits 482
categorized by BUs (Table 3) documents the value of available water information. The estimated future benefits 483
are contingent upon addressing needs that are not being met by existing hydrography data. 484
While dollar benefits were identified in all but one BU, 94 percent of current dollar benefits and 89 percent of all 485
future potential benefits were concentrated in the top five BUs. The qualitative value of water information for 486
education or public safety, the environment, and human lives saved generally followed this same pattern. While 487
most of the benefits are concentrated in the top five BUs, it is noted that other BUs have needs to be considered 488
when creating the next generation water system. 489
Business Use Sorted by Total Estimated Current and Future Benefits from Improved Hydrography Data and Services
(HRBS) MCAs
Current Annual
Benefits in US $ millions
Estimated Future Annual
Benefits in US $ millions
Estimated Current and
Future Annual
Benefits in US $ millions
River and Stream Flow Management 44 $220.07 $154.73 $374.80
Water Quality 79 $115.46 $121.48 $236.94
Water Resource Planning and Management 69 $98.11 $115.88 $213.99
Flood Risk Management 54 $56.12 $75.86 $131.98
River and Stream Ecosystem Management 34 $13.96 $67.00 $80.96
Natural Resources Conservation 34 $10.17 $17.76 $27.93
Coastal Zone Management 8 $10.71 $5.55 $16.26
Infrastructure and Construction Management 18 $1.65 $8.73 $10.38
Wildlife and Habitat Management 8 $0.18 $10.08 $10.26
Forest Resources Management 5 $1.76 $6.01 $7.77
Education K-12 and Beyond 9 $0.53 $5.36 $5.89
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Disaster Response 7 $0.10 $5.50 $5.60
Urban and Regional Planning 17 $2.17 $3.42 $5.59
Agriculture and Precision Farming 9 $1.25 $2.15 $3.40
Renewable Energy Resources 3 $2.80 $0.58 $3.38
Resource Mining 2 $1.03 $1.10 $2.13
Recreation 3 $1.41 $0.17 $1.58
Health and Human Services 4 $0.50 $0.50 $1.00
Sea Level Rise and Subsidence 2 $0.35 $0.35 $0.70
Oil and Gas Resources 3 $0.10 $0.10 $0.20
Marine and Riverine Navigation Safety 3 $0.03 $0.10 $0.13
Rangeland Management 1 $0.00 $0.10 $0.10
Geologic Resource Assessment and Hazard Mitigation 3 $0.04 $0.05 $0.09
Wildfire Management, Planning, and Response 1 $0.01 $0.01 $$0.02
Totals 420 $538.51 $602.57 $1141.08
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Table 3. Estimated current and future benefits by Business Use (BU) as identified by participants in the National Hydrography 490 Requirements and Benefits Study (HRBS). Table is sorted by total annual and future benefits. 491
[For benefits that were identified as a range, the smaller, more conservative value was used in this table. In addition to the identified 492 dollar benefits, all Mission Critical Activities (MCAs) identified societal benefits that are not represented here. Many survey participants 493 were unable to quantify dollar benefits even though they have MCAs requiring access to water information. All dollar values are in 494 constant 2016 U.S. dollars. Note that one BU (banking, real estate, mortgage, and insurance) had no identified MCAs and is therefore not 495 represented in this table. Table modified from Dewberry (2016, p. 16, Table 6)] 496 497
Survey respondents were asked about information requirements for each identified MCA. The questions 498
covered a range of topics including data content, spatial accuracies and completeness, sensitivity to error, 499
update frequency, analysis, connections to other data types, and methods of data access. The study results 500
show that the NHD, WBD, and medium-resolution NHDPlus are widely used today. Data users identified $538.5 501
million in annual benefits from existing information resources and the potential for an additional $602.4 million 502
annually if all unmet needs could be satisfied, for a total of over US $1.14 billion potential annual benefits (Table 503
3. 504
The HRBS shows that while a significant number of requirements are addressed with current data, there are key 505
areas where improvements are needed to gain wider usage of the NHD and WBD (Table 4). For NHD accuracy, 506
and update frequency characteristics, survey respondents identified requirements that often exceeded the 507
specifications of current products. 508
Hydrography Feature Specification
Low Requirement Moderate
Requirement High Requirement
Feature Specification
Percent Needs Met
Feature Specification
Percent Needs Met
Feature Specification
Percent Needs Met
Positional accuracy (horizontal) 40 Ft 22% 7 ft 63% 3 ft 100%
Minimum water body size 2 acres 37% 1 acre 65% < 1 acre 100%
Smallest contributing watershed area 640 acres 34% 60 acres 70% 6 acres 100%
Stream density 1.0 mile per
sq. mi. 9%
2.5 miles per sq. mi.
46% 5 miles per
sq. mi. 85%
General update frequency (review and update all features)
6-10 years 15% 4-5 years 41% 2-3 years 68%
Error correction (from time of reporting) 1-2 years 18% 3-6 months 30% 1-2 months 61%
Table 4. Requirements for highly accurate and up to date hydrography data often exceed the specifications for existing data. To address 509 these needs, the basic hydrography data components would need to be upgraded on a broad scale. 510
[The HRBS documented accuracy and update requirements for several key hydrography feature and attribute types. For horizontal 511 positional accuracy, minimum water body size, smallest contributing watershed area, stream density, and general update, the 512 requirements were identified for every Mission Critical Activity (MCA). For requirements related to error corrections, the HRBS question 513 was about general organizational-level requirements. For percent needs met, the percent was based on the number of MCAs requiring a 514 specified level of accuracy compared to 420 total MCAs and number of organizations (for error correction) as compared to 76 total 515 organizations. Table created from HRBS (Dewberry, 2016) vetted survey results dataset, HRBS questions 44, 49, 50, 51, 52, 71.] 516
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A series of questions were asked about hydrography content needed to support the identified MCAs (Table 5). 517
The documented requirements provide valuable information about priorities for the next generation 518
hydrography. The approach for designing a new hydrography program will necessarily vary for each data type 519
depending on whether it is within the scope of the USGS mission as it relates to water information. For example, 520
floodplain boundaries are not within the USGS mission, but user requirements for them could instead be 521
addressed by linking other agency data to the USGS hydrography data through closer collaboration with States 522
and other Federal agencies. 523
HRBS Question 46 For the Mission Critical Activity that you specified,
which of the following characteristics or features are required?
Ranked by total MCAs for a response of "Required" All
MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
Linkages to observations associated with stream gages 282 43 239
Wetlands 269 47 222
Streamflow permanence (flow periodicity: perennial, ephemeral, intermittent) 267 43 224
Floodplain boundary 258 40 218
Culverts and bridges 229 37 192
Bankfull and/or flood stage 215 38 177
Built diversion lines (pipelines, canals, channels, conveyances) 213 38 175
Linkages to cross-sectional geometry of hydrologic features (i.e. elevation profile)
207 39 168
Lake and channel bathymetry 201 36 165
Left and right bank delineation (geometry that shows two banks instead of a centerline)
200 41 159
Velocity estimates and/or time of travel 200 40 160
Built diversion points (gates) 175 37 138
Coastlines 160 35 125
Estuaries 143 36 107
Leakage/seepage at natural points (sinks, springs) 118 32 86
Leakage/seepage along natural lines (for example, sandy-bottomed streams) 109 31 78
Coastal bathymetry 104 26 78
Other (please specify) 83 15 68
Deltas 83 31 52
Badlands 35 14 21
Table 5. Geospatial water data content requirements were identified by participants in the HRBS. Participants were asked to identify the 524 level of need for each data type. Table is sorted by total number of Mission Critical Activities (MCAs) indicating the need as “required”. 525
[The table summaries are based on the number of MCAs requiring a data type. There were 420 MCAs identified in the survey, of which 54 526 came from Federal agencies and 366 came from other organization types (237 State government, 80 regional and local government, 25 527 not-for-profit, 16 private or commercial, and 8 Tribal) (Dewberry, 2016, p. 3-4, Table 1). Table created from HRBS (2016) vetted survey 528 results dataset, HRBS question 46.] 529
Water information needs are often addressed by merging or comparing multiple geospatial data and performing 530
some type of analysis to answer a question or to understand a policy or regulation. Further, the data needed 531
often come from different government agencies; however, to be compatible, data may need to be modified to 532
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allow for valid comparisons. To understand the importance of this type of data integration, HRBS survey 533
participants were asked to identify which data types they analyze together in order to address the needs 534
identified in the MCAs (Table 6). 535
Table 6. Data integration between USGS water data and other data types required to satisfy the needs of Mission Critical Activities (MCAs) 536 identified by HRBS participants. 537
[Table is sorted by all MCAs indicating the highest data integration needs. There were 420 MCAs identified in the survey, of which 54 came 538 from Federal agencies and 366 came from other organization types (237 State government, 80 regional and local government, 25 not for 539 profit, 16 private or commercial, and 8 Tribal) (Dewberry, 2016, p. 3-4, Table 1). Table created from HRBS vetted survey results dataset, 540 HRBS question 48.] 541
The HRBS study asked a wide range of questions to better understand user requirements for water information. 542
These questions go well beyond the summary level of detail that has been provided here. Expanded tables and 543
additional requirements identified in the HRBS can be found in Appendix A. 544
Potential Program Scenarios 545
While the NHD, WBD, and medium-resolution NHDPlus have a rich legacy and continue to meet substantial user 546
needs for water-related information, the HRBS documented the need for more accurate, timely, and content-547
HRBS Question 48 Please describe the level of hydrographic data integration with other datasets required for your Mission Critical
Activity. For each data type, identify how important the analysis is and the highest level of analysis required.
Ranked by total MCAs for a response of "Required" for any level of analysis. The highest level of analysis (“Perform geospatial analysis”) was indicated for 87
percent of all possible responses.
All MCAs
Federal Non-
Federal
Elevation 274 40 234
Streamflow 231 37 194
Land Cover 197 30 167
Wetlands 169 35 134
Soils 156 33 123
Point Discharges 139 23 116
Water Use: Diversions 126 24 102
USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) 124 30 94
USFWS National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) 117 27 90
USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID) 107 23 84
EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 99 11 88
Surficial Geology 92 20 72
Aquifers 89 16 73
Bathymetry 83 16 67
Climate 79 24 55
Contaminant Sources 79 12 67
USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) 62 22 40
EPA STOrage and RETrieval Data Warehouse (STORET) 55 9 46
Census (Population Statistics) 50 4 46
USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) 39 12 27
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rich data to address current and emerging needs. If all needs could be addressed, over $1.14 billion in annual 548
benefits are possible, including some major unquantified societal benefits. The USGS examined three possible 549
future program scenarios to assess the potential related benefits. Estimates of potential program costs were 550
determined for each scenario. These estimates were made based on known legacy program costs, results of 551
pilot data acquisition studies to improve the NHD by deriving hydrography from elevation, and through the 552
experience gained developing the successful 3DEP. The actual program cost could be higher or lower depending 553
on technology advancements and efficiencies that might be gained through larger projects and advancing 554
technology. 555
556
Figure 4. Comparison of data approaches for three possible implementation scenarios of 3DHP. Scenario 1 is a continuation of the current 557 program; Scenario 2 is a new program based on existing QL2 lidar derived elevation data; and Scenario 3 is a new program based on QL1 558 lidar-derived elevation data. 559
Scenario 1 is the status quo in which minimal incremental gains are made in the hydrography datasets. While 560
USGS would make progress in this scenario through current Alaska mapping funding by remapping surface water 561
in Alaska over the next nine years, other hydrography datasets would continue to age. The stewardship activities 562
would continue to make select area updates and fix errors yet would also continue to decrease national 563
consistency of the datasets over time. Some emerging needs could be addressed by the existing program. An 564
analysis of benefits in the HRBS indicate that new annual benefits would be about $120 million. Current data 565
could not support requirements to address flooding, clean water, aquatic resources, agriculture, and other 566
business needs; or support regional and national applications due to inconsistencies in the data. For example, 567
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army found that the NHD and NWI, as currently 568
mapped and managed, do not provide the consistency, accuracy, and completeness necessary for mapping 569
under the Clean Water Act. Also, the overall lack of national consistency in the NHD, coupled with labor-570
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intensive manual editing of the data, are already making it very difficult to keep pace with user needs for 571
updated products. New funding needs to maintain the status quo are small relative to Scenarios 2 and 3, but the 572
opportunities missed to address critical applications are large. 573
Scenario 2 strives to replace all existing hydrography over a nine-year period with new data derived from 3DEP 574
data. The horizontal positional accuracy of hydrography would be improved from +/- 40 feet to +/- 2-meters 575
(90% CE). This can be achieved from 3DEP QL2 lidar 1-meter DEMs created from the existing (and currently 576
being collected) QL2 or better lidar data. A new data model would be developed to support advanced analyses 577
and connections to other data such as wetlands, groundwater, and engineered hydrologic systems to more fully 578
account for the hydrologic cycle. This scenario will meet the needs of most MCAs identified in the HRBS and 579
achieve more than $509 million in annual benefits. 580
Scenario 3 is similar to Scenario 2 except the horizontal positional accuracy of hydrography would be improved 581
to +/- 1-meter (90% CE). New lidar data collected at QL1 or better used to create 0.5-meter DEMs would be 582
necessary, resulting in significantly higher costs. While the majority of current 3DEP data is collected at QL2 to 583
produce a consistent 1-meter DEM, if the next generation of 3DEP data moves to higher quality levels that 584
support production of 0.5-meter DEMs, it will be advantageous to reassess the use of that data. In the future, it 585
may be beneficial to consider a program where hydrography data are derived from either 1-meter or 0.5-meter 586
DEMs depending on the physiography and climate of the area. The benefit of Scenario 3 over the other 587
scenarios is that nearly all the requirements in the HRBS could be met, achieving about $588 million in additional 588
annual benefits. The higher positional accuracy of hydrography data would drive the collection of lidar data that 589
are of higher quality than currently available in 3DEP. This requirement would push out the timeframe for new 590
hydrography data until QL1 3DEP data are available, which does not currently have a national plan. Also, it 591
would nearly double the program costs and the funding challenges would be even greater. 592
Scenario 2 is the recommended approach for building the new 3D Hydrography Program. A comparison of the 593
three implementation scenarios (Figure 4) shows that the new benefits compared with program costs provide 594
the greatest value in Scenario 2. Scenario 1 fails to achieve a high level of future benefits but more importantly, 595
it will not be possible to meet the mission-critical needs identified in the HRBS or those that are newly emerging 596
through changing national priorities. While Scenario 3 is desirable in that it supports most of the needs 597
identified, it carries implementation challenges because the higher quality source elevation data do not exist 598
and are not yet planned for the majority of the Nation and collecting them would require a significant additional 599
investment. Also, the benefits are lower relative to costs. 600
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601 Figure 5. Comparison of annual costs and benefits for three possible implementation scenarios of 3DHP with different levels of investment. 602 Scenario 1 is a continuation of the current program; Scenario 2 is a new program based on existing QL2 lidar derived elevation data; and 603 Scenario 3 is a new program based on QL1 lidar-derived elevation data. Average annual costs are shown for a nine-year production cycle. 604 Benefits are annual benefits once the Nation is fully updated with 3DHP quality data. Annual cost would be expected to decline after 605 production year seven when 3DHP data acquisition is completed. 606
3D Hydrography Program 607
USGS has a rich history of producing and managing hydrography data to support a wide range of topographic 608
mapping and geospatial analyses, and the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) builds on activities and investments 609
in hydrography mapping over the last 20 years. A robust water information and science framework will support 610
21st century water resource information needs. This can be accomplished through the 3DHP Datasets and 611
Infostructure, which have a goal to create a new, elevation-derived mapping of the surface water network and a 612
companion system for managing and discovering water information in the context of that network. The 613
requirements identified in the HRBS lay the foundation for production of the first NHDPlus HR data in 2017, the 614
first prototype work on the National Hydrography Infrastructure in 2018, and the development and initial pilot 615
testing of deriving hydrography data from lidar and IfSAR elevation data to improve NHD in 2017. 616
The 3DHP will respond to the documented need for high-quality hydrography data derived from lidar and IfSAR 617
data. The primary goal of the program is to systematically acquire 3D hydrography data for the United States 618
and the territories, while also vastly improving the ability to search and discover water-related data in the 619
context of the stream network. The private sector, under government contract, will provide data-collection and 620
related services to respond to these needs for 3D hydrography derived from lidar and IfSAR data. The resulting 621
products and services will be freely accessible to all levels of government and the public. 622
As proposed, the 3DHP effort would begin providing products and services to partners and the public in 2025. 623
The strategy is to leverage funding from partners and to increase contributions from all sources. Because 3DHP 624
depends on private sector mapping firms to collect data, jobs will be created as the funding increases. Additional 625
jobs will result when the 3DHP data drive the implementation and development of applications, as documented 626
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in the HRBS (Dewberry, 2016). At the full funding level, 627
3DHP could return more than $1 billion annually in benefits 628
directly to the private sector and indirectly to citizens 629
through improved government program services 630
(Dewberry, 2016). 631
3DHP data and capabilities will allow scientists to more fully 632
model the hydrologic cycle, engineers to make better 633
development decisions, water suppliers to improve water 634
quality and availability, disaster response planners to 635
mitigate natural disasters, and natural resource managers 636
to better protect the environment. When 3DHP data are 637
widely available, further private sector and government 638
innovations will follow for years to come. This program 639
scenario is very ambitious and requires careful planning and 640
support from partners to be successful. 641
The HRBS documented needs from these and other 642
constituent user communities and identified requirements 643
that, for the recommended 3DHP scenario, could result in 644
$1.14 billion annual benefits and substantial societal 645
benefits. 646
A New Approach to Water Data 647
3DHP Datasets will include a 3D hydrography network 648
generated from 3DEP data including waterbodies, 649
hydrologic units, hydrologically conditioned DEMs, and 650
related attributes that bring a new level of consistency and accuracy. The stream network will include elevation 651
values on each vertex to enable 3D analysis of the data. The 3DHP will update and improve the positional 652
accuracy of the geospatial features and vastly improve connectivity. 3DEP data will be used as the base to 653
spatially and temporally integrate all 3DHP Datasets as a cohesive set of hydrographic information, increasing its 654
usability for applications like flood modeling and prediction, culvert and bridge engineering design, and 655
stormwater management. 3DHP Datasets will inherit many of the attributes of the NHD, WBD, and NHDPlus HR, 656
preserving the components of those datasets that have evolved and improved throughout their history. 3DHP 657
Datasets will include new attributes and connections to other data such as the NWI, groundwater, and 658
engineered hydrologic systems. Improved spatial accuracy will also make the new hydrography data more 659
compatible with other data such as surficial geology, soils, landcover, transportation networks, and other 660
infrastructure. 661
In addition, the Nation lacks a common data architecture for managing and easily accessing water information. 662
Water-related data, valuable to a host of applications, are often difficult to access from the multitude of 663
agencies and information systems involved. As stated in the report from the Aspen Institute dialog series on 664
water data, the U.S. is currently not able to answer basic questions about water such as how much water is 665
there, what is its quality, and how is it used (Aspen Institute, 2017). 666
From Internet of Water: Sharing and
Integrating Water Data for Sustainability
(Aspen Institute, 2017):
“Currently, we are unable to answer
fundamental questions about our water systems
in a timely way:
- How much water is there?
- What is its quality?
- How is it used (i.e., withdrawn,
consumed or returned for different
purposes)?
The data needed to answer these questions
often exist, although collected by multiple
agencies across different scales of government
and non-government organizations for
different purposes. Since data are scattered
across multiple platforms with different
standards, much of it cannot be re-used beyond
the primary purpose for which it was collected
and is not used or ever transformed into
information that supports real-time decision-
making, identifying trends and patterns, or
forecasting future conditions at a larger scale.”
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3DHP Infostructure, with development led by USGS, will address this problem by improving the way water data 667
can be shared, searched, and discovered. An “infostructure” is a technical infrastructure supporting an 668
information system. Infostructures are systems and processes of how information is consumed, managed, and 669
shared. The 3DHP Infostructure is an information infrastructure specific to data related to water. 670
The 3DHP Infostructure will provide the geospatial underpinning for the Internet of Water (IoW) 671
(https://internetofwater.org/). The IoW seeks to advance the transformation and modernization of water data 672
infostructure in the U.S. by developing affordable, open-source technologies for sharing and integrating water 673
data, and to demonstrate, through a national network of partners, the power of those technologies to improve 674
equitable and resilient water outcomes. 675
Building the Program 676
Project Schedule and Milestones 677
The project milestones in Table 7 represent major and time-sensitive accomplishments leading to the successful 678
implementation of the 3DHP. The schedule is based on assumptions of successfully securing funding, as outlined 679
in the Growth section of this report, and additional assumptions of products and services as described in the 3D 680
Hydrography Program Datasets and 3DHP Infostructure. While every attempt has been made to accurately 681
represent the current status and direction of 3DHP, the designers expect that the products, product 682
development plans, and operational capabilities will evolve over time and the budget will likely differ from what 683
is projected in this report. 684
3DHP Implementation Milestones Initiate Activity
Planned Completion
Governance and Communications
3DNTM Executive Forum FY21 Ongoing
3DHP coordinating committee FY21 Ongoing
Communications and Outreach to key partners FY21 Ongoing
Dataset Pilot Studies Pilots for hydrography updated from elevation FY17 FY23
Pilots for integration with National Wetlands Inventory, other data
FY21 FY25
Baseline Dataset Completion
NHDPlus HR production for CONUS, Hawaii, and major territories
FY15 FY25
NHDPlus HR production for Alaska FY17 FY31
Data Acquisition
3DHP specification - hydrography updated from elevation
FY19 FY20
3DHP specification – hydrologic units FY22 FY24
3DHP specification – hydrologically conditioned DEM
FY22 FY24
Data acquisition – establish BAA process FY22 FY24
Data acquisition – call for three-year acquisition priorities and partnerships
FY22 FY23
Data acquisition – contracting for 3DHP data FY23 FY28
Data validation, management, and product generation
FY24 FY30
3DHP Dataset Operations
3DHP operations – research and development for modernized data model and systems
FY22 FY23
3DHP operations – operational plan development FY22 FY22
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685 686
687 688 689 690
691
692
Table 7. Implementation milestones for the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP). 693
Leadership 694 [This section will be revised as governance discussions related to the National Landslide Preparedness Act progress.] 695
The 3DHP governance will be led by senior executives from cooperating agencies through various forums. The 696
3DHP operations will be guided by groups at the executive level and coordinated by groups at the managerial 697
and technical level. Outreach will be a primary aspect of the program, which is dependent on a broad base of 698
support and participation from Federal agencies and State and Tribal governments. Outreach will continue to be 699
directed toward building support and a funding base to move the program forward. Equally important is the 700
need to reach out to a growing user base to ensure that the 3DHP is responsive to government and private 701
sector needs. As with 3DEP, funding for 3DHP will rely heavily on partnership contributions. A key component of 702
the strategy is to increase funding to a level that allows the program partners to implement a directed national 703
acquisition strategy without compromising the mission needs of individual partners. 704
The 3DNTM Executive Forum will be composed of senior officials from Federal partner agencies. The Executive 705
Forum will formulate new policies and review and approve policies and priorities as may be recommended by 706
the coordinating committees for 3DEP and 3DHP. The Executive Forum members will develop and champion 707
funding initiatives to advance the 3DNTM and seek opportunities to coordinate Federal programs at the 708
executive level. The 3DEP Executive Forum will sunset on the formation of the 3DNTM Executive Forum. 709
The National Landslide Preparedness Act (2020) establishes a National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program at 710
USGS and directs the 3D Elevation Program to update and coordinate the collection of elevation data across the 711
country using high-resolution surveys. A 3D Elevation Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee will provide 712
guidance to the program. The 3DNTM Executive Forum may serve as the primary coordinating body for 3DEP 713
under the National Landslide Preparedness Act and may also coordinate with the Water Subcabinet as defined 714
in the Executive Order on “Modernizing America’s Water Resource Management and Water Infrastructure” on 715
matters related to the 3DHP. Additionally, it is anticipated that there will be coordination with the Alaska 716
Mapping Executive Committee, the FGDC NGDA inland water and elevation themes, and the 3D Nation Elevation 717
Subcommittee. 718
The NHI Working Group, created in 2018 as a forum for Federal agencies will become the 3DHP coordinating 719
committee. The committee will continue to provide input and collaboration for the 3DHP Infostructure and take 720
on new responsibilities for data acquisition prioritization and coordination under 3DHP. The current Working 721
Group includes the following member agencies: 722
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 723
• Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) 724
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 725
3DHP operations – production systems development
FY22 FY24
3DHP operations – production systems are in use FY24 Ongoing
3DHP Infostructure
Pilot 3DHP Infostructure FY18 FY23
Development of primary 3DHP Infostructure systems
FY22 FY24
Development of advanced 3DHP Infostructure systems
FY24 Ongoing
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• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 726
• National Park Service (NPS) 727
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 728
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 729
• U.S. Census Bureau 730
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 731
• U.S. Forest Service (USFS) 732
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 733
734
Additional agencies, such as FEMA, will be engaged for participation. 735
736
The 3DHP coordinating committee will be composed of partner agencies and potentially other organizations. It 737
will develop joint strategies that meet the needs of the participating Federal agencies, States, and Tribal 738
governments. The primary responsibilities of the Coordinating Committee will be to provide Federal input to the 739
3DHP data acquisition plan, prioritize projects to collect hydrography data, and advance the 3DHP Infostructure. 740
The committee will provide critical input on 3DHP products and services needed by member organizations. The 741
committee will also oversee the development of the 3DHP Infostructure including technical direction, 742
coordination with initiatives such as the IoW, seeking funding opportunities, and providing outreach regarding 743
the use of the 3DHP Infostructure. In addition, the Coordinating Committee will provide technical guidance 744
related to the collection of source data and provisioning of products and services. 745
Planning and Partnerships 746
Production and maintenance of hydrography has long relied on coordination and partnerships between Federal, 747
State, local, and Tribal organizations. The NHD and WBD Stewardship Programs have supported States and 748
Federal agencies and their partners in editing and improving the NHD and WBD. Among the States, there is a 749
wide range of involvement in managing and editing hydrography data. To achieve national coverage on a nine-750
year timeline, the 3DHP must build on existing relationships to establish a systematic and more unified process 751
for data acquisition and maintenance partnerships. USGS will collaborate with Federal, State, and other partners 752
to define a process that will begin to be implemented in FY2022 and will evolve as the program matures. 753
A critical first step in developing the acquisition process is to document and communicate the data needs of the 754
participating partners. USGS will solicit priorities and plans from Federal and State agencies with a goal of 755
forming a three-year acquisition strategy. This information will be published and maintained on the 3DHP 756
website to increase the potential for identifying common interests and leveraging funds. More comprehensive 757
Federal plans and information about State plans will be sought and refined in subsequent years to update the 758
three-year acquisition strategy. The 3DHP coordinating committee will review and refine the three-year strategy 759
annually, or more frequently as needed. The acquisition strategy will call for expanded data coverage in areas 760
where there are multiple requirements, a high potential for leveraging funds, and where high benefits (Figure 8) 761
were indicated in the HRBS study. Areas subject to hazards such as flooding may receive priority among 762
participating partners. Finally, to achieve economies of scale, the strategy will seek to identify areas where 763
combined partner areas of interest cover an entire 4-digit hydrologic unit. 764
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765
Figure 6. Hydrologic Units, level 4, showing total annual benefits per square mile from HRBS for Scenario 2, QL2 based 3DHP data. The 766 expected future benefits would be considered, among other priorities, when developing the acquisition schedule for 3DHP. 767
An integral part of planning and monitoring the 3DHP production effort will be the U.S. Interagency 768
Hydrography Inventory (USIHI). The USIHI will provide a mechanism to document the evolving status and 769
availability of hydrography data in the U.S. The inventory will contain information on areas where hydrography 770
has been derived from recent high-resolution elevation data and may also include information on local and State 771
stream network mapping and municipalities with interest in contributing storm water system data. The 772
inventory will be stored in a format ready for use in a geographic information system (GIS) and available to 773
download for use in desktop GIS software, and will be available as an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web 774
Feature Service (WFS). 775
Federal Roles and Responsibilities 776
Federal agencies will be asked to participate on a flexible but unified plan—mission objectives of the partner 777
agencies for data acquisition will be honored and will drive the acquisition process as funding and priorities 778
permit. Funding from partner agencies will continue to be focused on their specific mission needs, while USGS 779
funding will be used to increase coverage areas around partner projects and, where necessary, additional data 780
enhancements, to meet 3DHP objectives. Mission needs are not a barrier but are central to developing a unified 781
plan that is flexible as budgets and mission needs develop and change over time. 782
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Success of the 3DHP depends on the active support of Federal agencies to fulfill the following roles and 783
responsibilities: 784
• Federal agencies will coordinate and facilitate development of annual and multiyear plans for their 785
agencies nationally. 786
• Federal agencies will provide spokespeople and support the 3DHP goals to achieve nationwide 3DHP 787
data coverage and a robust 3DHP Infostructure. 788
• Federal agencies will be members of and participate in 3DNTM Executive coordinating committee and 789
the 3DHP coordinating committee planning activities. 790
• Federal agencies will work in partnership and provide financial contributions to data acquisition projects 791
or acquire and contribute data that meet 3DHP specifications. 792
State Roles and Responsibilities 793
Today, States are major contributors of data and often lead statewide acquisition and maintenance programs. 794
Under the 3DHP, the NHD and WBD stewardship programs would evolve but continue to be essential to the 795
production and maintenance of 3DHP data. The 3DHP planning approach is intended to encourage expansion of 796
state partnerships. As a 3DHP participant, each state will have agreed-upon roles and responsibilities. State roles 797
and structures will vary across the country, and USGS has embarked on a project with the National States 798
Geospatial Information Council (NSGIC) to help coordinate communications and information with the many 799
States interested in updating the NHD with hydrography derived from elevation. Characteristics of a successful 800
State partnership would likely include: 801
• A statewide funding strategy to jointly fund 3DHP data collection with the USGS and other Federal 802
partners and funding to participate in partnership activities. 803
• An outreach strategy supporting the goal of nationwide coverage. 804
• A program to coordinate and facilitate the development of local and regional partnerships. 805
• A commitment to meet or exceed 3DHP data acquisition specifications. 806
States will be encouraged to coordinate with local and other entities to build funding coalitions and plans that 807
feed into the national process. The 3DHP planning approach is intended to provide the lead time that States 808
need to enable funding initiatives to be passed in their respective jurisdictions. Active participation by the States 809
will result in higher-quality data overall and will help achieve the objectives of a national strategy. USGS National 810
Map Liaisons and Partner Support will provide States with technical assistance when needed and coordination 811
support to facilitate participation in 3DHP data acquisition activities. 812
3DHP will move from the current process where stewards check out 813
and edit data, to a tiered model where corrections to data would be 814
communicated to USGS through the USGS Markup Application 815
(https://www.usgs.gov/NHD/Tools). USGS will encourage partners and 816
users to leverage the Markup Application to suggest correct 817
positioning, attribution, network connectivity, or other changes. 818
Anyone with local knowledge of hydrology will be encouraged to 819
submit suggestions for updates to the data. Review of markups will be 820
conducted by 3DHP stewards or USGS in places where no stewards are 821
established. After review and validation of the markups, edits will be 822
completed by USGS. 823
Overview of Tiered Model
Tier 1 - Error identification and
propose changes via Markup
Application: Partners, general users
Tier 2 - Review markups and provide
feedback and approval to USGS:
Stewards AND/OR USGS
Tier 3 - Editing of features: USGS
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824
Figure 7. Overview of 3DHP roles for the USGS, Federal partners, state and local partners, the private sector, and users. 825
Partnership Benefits 826
The 3DHP data acquisition partnerships are designed to yield the following benefits: 827
• The level of investments may increase, improving cost efficiency and providing a greater return on 828
individual agency investments for data coverage and quality. 829
• Greater economic benefits directly attributable to high-quality 3DHP data can be realized sooner. 830
• Common and standard data-collection specifications will be implemented to ensure that data are 831
compatible and support geographic analysis across state lines and project boundaries. 832
• The most consistent and efficient contract mechanism to contribute elevation-derived hydrography to 833
the 3DHP data collection will be achieved using the USGS Geospatial Product and Service Contracts 834
(GPSC). 835
• Through coordinated planning, large area data acquisition projects will be consistent with most state 836
plans that call for statewide coverage to be achieved in three to five years. 837
• The patchwork-quilt effect will be minimized through larger area data-collection projects, which 838
accelerate the rate of coverage. 839
• The data acquisition specification under 3DHP provides a path for Federal, State, Tribal, and other 840
partners that need more accurate or higher-resolution data. 841
The 3DHP Infostructure will provide valuable benefits to partners by providing tools to reference their water-842
related information to the 3DHP’s authoritative national stream network while maintaining control of their data. 843
The 3DHP Infostructure partnerships are designed to yield many benefits, including: 844
• Increased ability to share data efficiently and effectively. 845
• Ability to discover data needed for analyses, science, policy, and every-day uses. 846
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• Co-development of application programming interfaces (APIs) that can be implemented on a partner’s 847
websites and data portals to tailor searches of referenced datasets. 848
Outreach and Communications 849
A communications plan will be developed for 3DHP to set a schedule and milestones for communicating across 850
3DHP audiences (Table 8) about the initiation of the program. Outreach is critically important to the success of 851
3DHP and the development of an active outreach strategy is an early program milestone. USGS began outreach 852
in FY2020 to partners and stakeholders, including the community of private sector mapping contractors, to 853
ensure they have the information necessary to participate in the 3DHP. The communications plan will include a 854
timeline, a definition of communication roles, and a list of materials needed to initiate outreach activities for a 855
successful launch of 3DHP products and services in 2023. 856
Audience Description Examples of Key Audience Groups
Federal executives
Decisionmakers and overseers of Federal programs and budgets
3DNTM Executive Forum Federal budget planning process (DOI, OMB, other Federal departments) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
Partners
Organizations that partner with USGS to collect data or provide programmatic advice
Federal, State, local, Tribal, and other partners 3DHP coordinating committee Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) DOI Geospatial Advisory Committee (DOI GAC)
Geospatial user community
Organizations that use hydrography data to meet mission objectives
Federal, State, local, Tribal, and other users American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Conferences National States Geospatial Information Council (NSGIC) Conferences Esri International and Federal User Conferences Outreach events related to business uses with significant benefits from a national 3D Hydrography Program
Industry users
Current and potential Industries that would benefit from hydrography data
Architecture and Engineering Agriculture Forestry and Forest Products Fisheries Management Mining Oil and Gas Planning (transportation, land use) Hydropower and Renewable Energy Insurance and Financial Services
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Professional community
Groups that provide a venue for communicating opportunities and issues associated with a given professional field or user community
National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Interstate Council on Water Policy (ICWP) MAPPS American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Association of American State Geologists (AASG) Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) 3DEP Coalition Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) North American Lake Management Society (NALMS)
Legislative
Congressional members and staff and organizations that determine or influence Federal and State budgets
USGS, DOI informational visits to Congress members and staff Outreach by 3DHP stakeholders
Media and public
Media and those who could raise 3DHP awareness across user communities and the general public
Trade publications (for example, AWRA Impact Magazine, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA), Directions Magazine, ArcNews) Social Media (for example, Facebook, Twitter) Online Platforms (for example, YouTube, Vimeo) Newspaper Television 3DHP Website and factsheets
Table 8. Target audiences for outreach and communications for the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP). 857
[The communications and outreach strategy for 3DHP includes a wide range of partners and other constituents. Outreach is needed to gain 858 community support and to successfully implement the partnership approach for data acquisition. Definitions: 3D, three dimensional; DOI, 859 U.S. Department of the Interior; OMB, Office of Management and Budget; USGS, U.S. Geological Survey] 860
Growth 861
The 3DHP program of work is predicated on the assumption of the effort starting in FY2022 with moderate 862
growth for FY2023 and accelerated growth in subsequent years. Investments in lidar and IfSAR data collections 863
through 3DEP have made it possible to derive 3DHP features from elevation data for a significant portion of the 864
Nation. For the proposed operational program to be fully realized, a $676 million investment (Figure 5) will be 865
required between FY2022 and FY2030, including one year of preparation, six years of active data acquisition, 866
and two additional years to complete data inspection and processing after the acquisition period. Numerous 867
assumptions went into the investment model and will likely change over time. 868
The key assumptions are: 869
• QL2 or better lidar data will be available for the conterminous United States under 3DEP, and elevation 870
data costs are not included in estimated 3DHP costs. 871
• Acquisition costs may be reduced from the program estimates based on pilot costs for a variety of 872
reasons including larger data acquisition projects, new technologies, methodologies, and processes that 873
become commercially available or developed. 874
• Any hydrography features currently in the NHD that meet USGS elevation-derived hydrography 875
specifications and pass inspection processes will be included in the 3DHP Datasets. 876
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• While data in Alaska will be included as a part of the 3DHP, it is not included in the funding calculations 877
as hydrography in Alaska is currently being updated under the Alaska Mapping initiative. If the Alaska 878
Mapping initiative were discontinued, 3DHP would have to assume costs to create 3DHP Datasets for 879
Alaska. 880
• Lifecycle management costs during the nine-year production cycle include 3D Hydrography Program 881
management; research and development; data maintenance, management, and delivery; and 882
information technology systems and support. 883
• Data acquisition costs include derivation of new 3DHP features, hydrologically conditioned DEM 884
development, transition of legacy attributes to a new data model, and all acquisition inspection costs. 885
• All costs and budget estimates are based on constant 2021 dollars. 886
• There will continue to be growth in hydrography investments by partner institutions, and a consortium 887
of Federal agencies committed to 3DHP will participate in initial acquisition investments in Year 2 with 888
accelerated growth thereafter. 889
• Data acquisition will increase over the first three years and steady-state operational funding levels will 890
be achieved by Year 4. 891
• The planned schedule assumes that the program will be fully funded through data and financial 892
contributions from participating government agencies and Tribes. If full funding is not achieved, the 893
completion date of the 3DHP will be extended. 894
895
Figure 8. Potential cost of a nine-year program that includes a six-year data acquisition period and associated startup and other lifecycle 896 management cost to develop new hydrography data from DEMS and extend content to include connections to wetlands, groundwater 897 models, engineered hydrologic systems, and other select data types. Program costs would decline after initial six-year data acquisition 898 period. 899
[Year 1 has continued legacy operations and is a planning year for 3DHP operations, oversight committee creation, research, and 900 outreach. Systems development is initiated, and first data collection contracts are let in Year 2 with increases until a steady state 901 production rate is achieved in Year 5. Budgets are based on pilot program contract costs and estimates for lifecycle management costs. 902 Actual costs may be higher or lower.] 903
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3DEP was successful in building partnerships with Federal and State agencies and Tribal governments to fund 904
data acquisition. The 3DHP will follow a similar funding model which anticipates significant investments by 905
partner organizations. USGS will continue to partner with these organizations on shared data acquisition costs. 906
Lifecycle costs and data contracting, validation and processing expenses would be included in the core USGS 907
3DHP. The cost share model (Figure 6) is one potential model and is not intended to allocate cost shares to any 908
organization or to individual government sectors. The actual funding model is expected to evolve and change in 909
the program operations plan. 910
911
Figure 9. Graph showing one possible funding model (in constant 2021 U.S. dollars) for the 3DHP. The projected growth model is based on 912 the assumptions that USGS investments will see moderate growth and that investments from partners will show corresponding growth. 913 Total investments from all sources are estimated to be $676 million. The estimates are based on a nine-year project lifecycle and a six-year 914 acquisition period and include associated management costs and a phase out of legacy program activities. The graph excludes lidar or 915 IfSAR acquisition costs, which are included in 3DEP. 916
Building the 3DHP Datasets and Infostructure 917
3DHP Datasets and Infostructure will work together as integrated pieces of the same technology, and therefore 918
must be co-designed and developed. 3DHP Datasets will be designed to support the needs of hydrologic 919
modeling, GIS analyses, and cartography, as well as the 3DHP Infostructure. The 3DHP Infostructure will be built 920
to support the sharing and discovery of water-related data, including to underpin the Internet of Water. While 921
work in this arena over the last 20 years has created a solid foundation upon which to chart this future path, 922
primary research and design work will be vital to support successful implementation of the 3DHP Datasets and 923
Infostructure next generation of hydrography. 924
3DHP Datasets Overview 925
3DHP Datasets will be a vertically integrated data stack that includes: 926
• A stream network including waterbodies derived from elevation data; 927
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Data Content Development (USGS) Data Content Development (Partner)
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• Multiple levels of nested hydrologic units including catchments for each stream segment produced using 928
the stream network and elevation data; 929
• Hydrologically conditioned DEMs with flow direction and routing that matches the stream network and 930
hydrologic units; 931
• Additional attributes related to those features that assist with hydrologic and stream network routing 932
and analysis; and 933
• Additional datasets such as flow accumulation and flow direction surfaces. 934
The quality of the 3DHP Datasets will be improved significantly from the currently available NHD, WBD, and 935
NHDPlus HR. When HRBS customer requirements are compared with 3DHP design, many of the core 936
hydrography content requirements can be met (see Table 9). 937
HRBS content requirements met by 3DHP Percent of MCAs required*
or addressed** by HRBS content requirement
Best available data Highest level of detail available maintained, build generalization functionality such that products support analysis where consistency is required
100%**
Spatial accuracy Spatial features horizontal positional accuracy - +/- 2 meters, 90 percent CE (1:2,400-scale)
64%**
Elevation data integration
Elevation and hydrography integrated – 3DHP Datasets derived from 3DEP data
65%*
More complete hydrologic cycle
Groundwater models linked to 3DHP Datasets 21%*
NWI wetland features data spatially aligned with 3DHP Datasets
64%*
Built diversion lines, including stormwater systems, integrated as spatial features (potentially generalized)
51%*
Culverts included or linked to 3DHP Datasets, bridges spatially aligned with 3DHP Datasets
55%*
Streamflow permanence Streamflow permanence attributed as modeled values that can be classed by users
51%*
Network connectivity
On-network discovery – Find features, events or addresses on network
68%*
Network analysis – Navigate up or downstream on network supported
66%*
Network analysis – Calculate stream distance to any point on the network
59%*
On-network discovery – Find upstream or downstream points
51%*
On-network discovery – Calculate distance between points or other attributes on network
47%*
Maintenance
General hydrographic features reviewed and updated on a 4-5 year schedule (dependent on 3DEP data availability)
41%**
Known errors corrected within 1-2 months from reporting
64%**
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Table 9. Key content and capabilities to be supported by 3DHP data. The HRBS assessment was used to identify high priority needs best 938 suited for inclusion in 3DHP data or to be supported through the 3DHP Infostructure. The proposed 3DHP will support all the features and 939 capabilities shown within this table. Benefits analysis for 3DHP implementation options were based on criteria shown in the shaded cells. 940
[Three scenarios are based on required features as identified in the HRBS. Analysis of each scenario was based on weighted values as 941 follows: Positional accuracy – 25 percent, elevation integration – 25 percent, wetlands connections – 10 percent, built diversion lines – 10 942 percent, culverts and bridges – 10 percent, flow periodicity – 10 percent, general update frequency – 10 percent. Definitions: QL2 Based 943 Program – 1-m DEM from QL2 or better lidar; QL1 Based Program – 0.5-m DEM from QL1 or better lidar; Source: Dewberry 2016 survey 944 results questions 49 (spatial accuracy), 48 (elevation integration), 46 (wetlands), 48 (point discharges), 46 (built diversion lines), 46 945 (culverts and bridges), 46 (flow periodicity), 44 (general update).] 946
Best available data 947
Similar to the NHD, 3DHP Datasets will store the highest level of detail available for derived stream network 948
features. Generalization processes or tools will be developed such that the stream network and hydrologic units 949
can be generalized to a homogeneous or less detailed product for analyses such as national-level modeling and 950
reporting. 951
Spatial accuracy 952
The new 3DHP features will have a horizontal accuracy of +/- 2 meters (90% CE), which will meet 64 percent of 953
the overall reported user requirements for horizontal positional accuracy (see Table 9). The dataset will map 954
waterbodies that are one acre or larger (two acres in Alaska). The actual minimum water body size to be 955
retained will be determined during pilot tests and operations planning. 956
Elevation Data Integration 957
HRBS survey respondents identified the alignment of hydrography data with elevation data as the most required 958
data integration type. The success of the 3DEP and resulting rapid increase in highly detailed and accurate lidar 959
(IfSAR in Alaska) make it possible to derive hydrography data from elevation data at a fine resolution nationally. 960
Deriving hydrography features from 3DEP data enhances the vertical and horizontal spatial integration between 961
terrain and the stream network, providing the level of accuracy and detail required for regional and local 962
applications. The integration of elevation and hydrography also provides the terrain basis for modeling the flow 963
of water across landscapes. The stream network and hydrologic units will undergo a complete revision to 964
improve the mapping by deriving hydrography from elevation, including the addition of elevation values to each 965
linear feature vertex in the stream network. 966
The stream network will be connected such that flow models will work correctly across the entire network. The 967
horizontal and vertical positional accuracy will be improved, greatly enhancing the ability to perform analysis of 968
the water data, especially when combined with other datasets such as land cover, soils, surficial geology, and 969
elevation via the 3DHP Infostructure. In aligning the hydrography to the elevation, the data will also have the 970
correct placement to be used with bathymetric data where available. Key attributes from the NHD will be 971
conflated to the new 3DHP spatial features. Data derived in pilot projects in Alaska using a 5-meter DEM from 972
IfSAR and in CONUS using 1-meter DEMs have been highly successful. 973
Hydrologic units will be hydrologically defined according to the elevation data and will accurately match the 974
corresponding stream network. They will be mapped using one of two methods – either derived directly from 975
the elevation data or created by producing catchment areas for each hydrographic network segment and 976
accumulating those catchment areas into larger, nested hydrologic unit areas using defined rules. Additional 977
testing and research are needed to determine the most accurate and correct method, and specifications will be 978
necessary to define the rules for these data. 979
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Hydrologically conditioned DEMs will be created as a part of the stream network derivation process. Hydro-980
conditioned DEMs will have bridges, culverts, and other impediments to flow removed from the dataset, and the 981
derived stream network will be enforced into the hydro-conditioned DEM such that water flows across the 982
surface is represented accurately. Hydro-conditioned DEMs will be highly valuable for flood inundation modeling 983
and land use planning for applications such as agriculture. Other surfaces that will be created during the stream 984
network derivation process and will be distributed as a part of 3DHP Datasets are flow accumulation and flow 985
direction surfaces. 986
3DEP 1-meter standard product DEMs created from QL2 or better lidar (5-meter DEMs in Alaska) will be used as 987
the source data for all elevation-derived products. The source elevation data from 3DEP will generally be less 988
than ten years old, and where major events have occurred, it is likely newer data will be available to create 989
3DHP features. The new stream network and hydrologic unit features will align with the hydrologically 990
conditioned DEMs by virtue of them being derived from the same source. This will create a unified model of the 991
flow of water across the landscape and through the stream network. It is instrumental that 3DHP Datasets be 992
built from a standardized data source across the country to ensure consistency in derived products for reporting, 993
modeling, and scientific research. 994
As part of the steps towards building the 3DNTM, the USGS is researching how to create a continuous 995
topobathymetric surface derived from high-resolution elevation and bathymetry. These data, combined with 996
the stream network derived from elevation data, will be incredibly useful for applications such as flood risk 997
mapping and prediction and inundation modeling. 3DEP plans to use airborne topobathymetric lidar, where 998
appropriate and in conjunction with other technologies such as multibeam sonar, to map submerged 999
topography in rivers and lakes and has begun piloting a small number of topobathymetric lidar surveys. Planning 1000
to operationalize inland bathymetry will be addressed in the Call for Action plan that will focus on the next 1001
generation of 3DEP. 1002
More complete hydrologic cycle 1003
Research will be undertaken to understand how to connect surface and groundwater features, including to 1004
understand how groundwater models might be linked to the 3DHP Infostructure through the use of addressed 1005
data, for example, by linking aquifers or even groundwater model cells to surface-water features such as 1006
streams and lakes, and making such linkages provide useful interoperability. Additionally, groundwater 1007
catchment areas might also be developed showing where shallow unconfined aquifers may contribute flow to 1008
streams, and where streams may be losing flow to a shallow aquifer. While such linkages are conceptually 1009
possible, research is needed to determine how this could be implemented. 1010
To provide hydrologic modelers and ecologists a clear picture of the inland waters of the United States, the 1011
3DHP stream network and NWI wetland features must be spatially aligned such that the two datasets function 1012
together as a whole. Research to support this will include investigating how to collaboratively map the stream 1013
network and wetlands to create interoperable data layers depicting the inland waters of the U.S. Discussions 1014
have already begun regarding how to better align the datasets. For example, a pilot project is underway in 1015
FY2021 in Alaska to test how the NWI can use the NHD as a primary base and starting place for wetland 1016
mapping. If issues are found in the process, they could potentially be solved, for example, through changes to 1017
data specifications resulting in data acquisitions that better meet the needs of both datasets, or through 1018
changes to the database schemas of the datasets. Research and pilot studies to improve functionality between 1019
the datasets will continue into the foreseeable future. 1020
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3DHP will include engineered hydrologic systems, with a concerted effort to integrate generalized 1021
representations of stormwater systems in urban areas. This is an area of research focus as the condition of 1022
stormwater system data, as well as the required level of detail of stormwater systems, is unknown. Engineered 1023
hydrology systems, including irrigation systems as well as agricultural and urban drainage systems are important 1024
parts of the hydrologic system, and therefore need to be represented at some level of detail in the 3DHP 1025
hydrographic network. However, these systems often include underground features that are not directly 1026
observable through remote sensing means and that are built and maintained by a plethora of local governments 1027
and/or private entities. Additionally, the finer details of such systems may change frequently. These 1028
characteristics make these systems more difficult to map and maintain as digital hydrographic data. For 1029
example, research is needed to determine what level of detail and network connectivity of urban stormwater 1030
systems is necessary to meet the requirements for flood inundation mapping, and how to acquire and maintain 1031
such data. Research also is needed to determine the level of detail needed to adequately represent agricultural 1032
irrigation and drainage networks for soil and water conservation planning, while avoiding inclusion of features 1033
that may change from year to year, and thus be impossible to maintain. 1034
Culverts are critical to accurately deriving hydrography from elevation as well as understanding hydrologic 1035
systems. Culverts that are acquired as a part of projects deriving hydrography from elevation will be made 1036
available, with future research determining if they will be a core part of the 3DHP schema or provided as 1037
hydrographically addressed data available through the 3DHP Infostructure. Bridges are available in the National 1038
Bridge Inventory, but further coordination the U.S. Department of Transportation would be beneficial to ensure 1039
they meet the needs of 3DHP users. 1040
Periodicity 1041
Streamflow permanence information will be improved by providing flow probability information from 1042
hydrologic models rather than classifying streams into permanence classes. 3DHP data users and stewards will 1043
then be able to use that information to categorize probable streamflow into permanence classes, such as 1044
perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral, according to their own definitions to fulfill their own needs. Currently, 1045
USGS is engaged in research to support the development of streamflow permanence information. USGS is 1046
researching models that provide streamflow permanence probabilities (probabilistic predictions) of a stream 1047
channel having year-round flow for any unregulated and minimally impaired stream channel (USGS, 2021). USGS 1048
is also partnered with NASA and the Frontier Development Lab to research the use of high-resolution satellite 1049
imagery and 3DEP lidar to map stream wetness in near real-time (Frontier Development Lab, 2021). 1050
Network connectivity 1051
3DHP will develop and implement a modernized data management system and schema for the stream network 1052
and hydrologic units with an emphasis on stream network connectivity that will be important both to users of 1053
the data, and in the 3DHP Infostructure. This will enable on-network discovery analyses such as: 1054
• Finding features, events or addresses on the stream network, 1055
• Finding upstream or downstream points, and 1056
• Calculating distance between points or other attributes on the stream network, 1057
and network analyses such as: 1058
• Navigating up or downstream on the stream network, and 1059
• Calculating stream distance to any point on the stream network. 1060
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In line with the Geospatial Data Act’s focus on using open and interoperable international standards when 1061
possible, USGS will review Hydrologic Features (HY_Features), an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) surface 1062
water conceptual model standard. USGS will also work with other countries, including Canada and Australia, 1063
who have implemented this standard to understand and learn from their experiences. The 3DHP schema will be 1064
modernized from the NHD’s existing schema. The schema will include both the stream network and hydrologic 1065
units with topological rules enforcing their geometries. Research will also investigate new methods for 1066
hydrographically addressing data, including changes to the data model to support it. The data will be managed 1067
in an enterprise geospatial database in a server or cloud structure. 1068
Maintenance and Availability 1069
3DHP maintenance goals include correcting errors in 1-2 months after they are reported and fully updating the 1070
stream network on approximately a 4-5 year schedule, dependent on 3DEP data availability. The primary focus 1071
will be to complete national coverage in nine years. During that time, limited areas may be considered for full 1072
data revision to address changes to hydrology due to natural hazard events or other high priority situations. 1073
A snapshot of all 3DHP data will be available annually as a national dataset release with a digital object identifier 1074
to support citations in scientific research (https://www.doi.org/). The most current data will be available as 1075
individual data layer downloads and accessible as map services between annual data releases. USGS will 1076
research additional methods to provide data in harvestable, machine-readable formats. 1077
3DHP Infostructure Conceptualization 1078 [Additional details will be added describing the 3DHP Infostructure, including USGS’s technical and leadership role, technical 1079 development, relationship to the Internet of Water and plans for implementation.] 1080
The 3DHP Infostructure (Figure 9) will provide the means to 1081
share and discover water-related data in the context of the 1082
3DHP Datasets. It will be a set of open and interoperable web-1083
based tools, maps, and catalogs housed at USGS, that when 1084
taken together, create a robust system to reference and access 1085
information about water – everything from stream gages to 1086
temperature to water quality. The 3DHP Infostructure will be 1087
collaborative, open, and available to everyone. 1088
The 3DHP Infostructure will provide the geospatial 1089
underpinning for the Internet of Water. The Internet of Water, 1090
led through a project at Duke University, is focused on better 1091
data for better water management. The Internet of Water will 1092
support water data management by providing tools that 1093
improve the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of water 1094
data, educational programs for data users and decision-makers, 1095
and access to a nationwide community of practice. Through 1096
close collaboration and engagement between 3DHP and IoW, 1097
we will help connect partners and users with the information they need to make more effective water 1098
management decisions. 1099
Community is a core component of the 3DHP Infostructure concept and the Internet of Water. While USGS and 1100
partner agencies will provide the overarching structure and functionality of the 3DHP Infostructure, the data 1101
An Example of the Need for the 3DHP
Infostructure and Internet of Water
The USFS compiled more than 300 million
stream temperature observations from
more than 100 agencies for the NorWeST
Stream Temperature Model. These data are
useful to a multitude of applications.
The work took nearly 25,000 hours to
collect the information, and it was out-of-
date as soon as it was compiled. The USGS
and partners are developing the 3DHP
Infostructure as a part of the Internet of
Water to make water-related data like this
easy to create, search, and discover.
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searchable through it will be managed by the datasets’ authoritative producers. These data producers will make 1102
the information available to the 3DHP Infostructure by publishing it through standardized web-based services. 1103
This gives data producers control over their information while sharing it with the broader community. In turn, 1104
the community of users can efficiently search and access the most authoritative data. 1105
1106
Figure 10. The 3DHP Infostructure conceptual model illustrates the relationship between the major components of the 3DHP Infostructure. 1107 3DHP datasets are accessed through an Application Programmer Interface. Specific Linked Data may be accessed, or users may link their 1108 own dataset to perform analysis of linked data. 1109
Hydrographic Addressing Tools - Hydrographic addressing tools will enable users to georeference water-related 1110
information to the 3DHP Datasets and create authoritatively managed web-based services. These tools give 1111
water-related data reference locations, similar to street addresses, on the stream network. Several hydrographic 1112
addressing tools have been developed, with more currently in development. Currently available tools include 1113
the Hydrography Event Management (HEM) Tool and HydroLink Tool. A web-based version of the HEM Tool, 1114
known as HydroAdd Tool, is in development and testing. 1115
Search and Discovery Tools - Tools for the search and discovery of hydrographically addressed data continue to 1116
be developed by USGS. The Network-Linked Data Index (NLDI), which currently uses the medium-resolution 1117
NHDPlus as its hydrography framework, supports search and discovery and is currently implemented on several 1118
websites. For example, the USGS Water Data for the Nation development team uses the NLDI to show gages 1119
that are upstream and downstream of an existing gage. The NLDI is also used in the Water Quality Portal where 1120
it is possible to download data by using upstream and downstream queries. NLDI can be used via the Python 1121
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programming language in statistical software packages such as R and is also available as a web API. NLDI code is 1122
currently being updated to use the NHDPlus HR as its hydrography network. 1123
To address emerging needs and to test leading technologies, the development strategy for the 3DHP 1124
Infostructure calls for an evolution of products and services. Development teams will advance a core 1125
functionality, and through feedback from the community the 3DHP Infostructure will be improved. User 1126
community input and collaboration will also be provided by the 3DHP coordinating committee as described in 1127
the Leadership section of this report. Over time, the 3DHP Infostructure will evolve to improve functionality and 1128
grow additional partnerships through the community. 1129
Data Acquisition Contracts and Specifications 1130
It is anticipated that much of this work will be completed by the private sector, with derived data produced and, 1131
for some datasets, conflated to 3DHP Datasets by contractors for the USGS or partner organizations. USGS will 1132
be responsible for data inspection, management, and delivery of data to the public. 1133
All data must meet specifications published by 1134
USGS to support derivation of hydrography features 1135
from 3DEP 1-meter standard product lidar-derived 1136
DEMS, or a 5-meter elevation grid created from 1137
IfSAR in Alaska, including “Elevation-Derived 1138
Hydrography Acquisition Specifications” (Terziotti 1139
and Archuleta, 2020) and “Elevation-Derived 1140
Hydrography—Representation, Extraction, 1141
Attribution, and Delineation Rules” (Archuleta and 1142
Terziotti, 2020). After the dataset is accepted into 1143
USGS holdings, corrections will be accomplished by 1144
data stewards and USGS staff using the web-based 1145
Markup Application as the mechanism to collect 1146
and review improvements. In the future, change 1147
detection based on either the elevation data or 1148
hydrography may trigger updates to 3DHP data. 1149
Data-acquisition projects managed by the USGS use 1150
a suite of qualifications-based selection (QBS), 1151
indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) 1152
contracts collectively referred to as the Geospatial 1153
Product and Service Contracts (GPSC). There are ten 1154
prime contractors under the GPSC, which has a 1155
combined delegated procurement authority of $750 1156
million over five years. Each prime contractor has 1157
multiple subcontractors on its GPSC team. The 1158
contracts include acquisition, processing, and 1159
quality assurance of lidar and other source 1160
geographic data. The GPSC will be recompeted in 1161
2021-2022 to expand the scope of services and 1162
increase acquisition capacity for 3DNTM. To ensure data quality and standardized product and service 1163
Figure 11. Overview of the proposed 3DHP data acquisition process from partnerships and project development to delivery to the public.
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development, the USGS prefers that partners use the GPSC to acquire data when possible and practical. While 1164
funding partners will be encouraged to utilize the services of the USGS GPSC, they may elect to use their own 1165
contracting capabilities. When 3DHP acquisitions are managed through contracts other than the GPSC, the 1166
acquiring partner agency will require that the contracted project deliverables meet the minimum 3DHP 1167
acquisition specifications and that all mandatory deliverables are provided to the USGS. 1168
USGS issues an annual Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to solicit partnership proposals for 3DEP lidar data 1169
acquisitions. USGS is planning to use a similar mechanism for partnering on 3DHP data acquisition. Depending 1170
on their needs, partners may propose acquisition projects that use the USGS GPSC or their own authorities and 1171
contracts to acquire data that meet the 3DHP specification. To ensure data quality and efficient development of 1172
standard products and services, USGS encourages partners to use the GPSC when possible and practical. The 1173
BAA, issued annually, will provide detailed instructions for submitting partnership proposals and describes the 1174
specific criteria for project selection. 1175
Organizations may contribute data that meet 3DHP specifications to the national database that were acquired 1176
outside of the BAA process. These data may be acquired through the USGS GPSC or by partner contracts or 1177
other mechanisms. USGS will implement a standard procedure for reviewing and accepting the contributed 1178
datasets and will provide feedback to contributors on 3DHP review schedules for including in 3DHP datasets. 1179
Data Validation and Acceptance 1180
USGS performs inspections for data validation of all 3DEP data to ensure compliance with contract 1181
specifications. USGS is developing a similar process to inspect and validate 3DHP data against specifications. All 1182
data that USGS receives from contractors or other organizations will undergo an assessment to determine if 1183
they meet the minimum specifications. Data validation includes: 1184
• Inspection of all delivered files (hydrography data, metadata, raster files, imagery, and other required 1185
files) to identify corrupt or missing data and improper formats. 1186
• Automated and visual assessment of project and file metadata for completeness and accuracy. 1187
• Automated and visual inspection of vector and raster data for completeness and accuracy. 1188
• Documentation of any issues. 1189
It is anticipated that the 3DHP data validation procedures will require: 1190
• Additional storage, high-performance workstations, and efficient data validation software. 1191
• Design and implementation of statistically-sound sampling methods. 1192
• Increased automation and use of machine learning for inspection. 1193
Projects with missing, inaccurate, or improperly processed data will be returned to the contractor or 1194
contributing organization with an inspection report identifying and describing the problems (or examples of the 1195
problems). Subsequent deliveries will be rechecked and accepted when problems are corrected to specification. 1196
Hydrography data that are contributed from other organizations will be inspected by USGS as resources are 1197
available and may require editing by USGS to resolve anomalies in the data. 1198
Operations and Production Planning and Development 1199
The 3DHP operational system will be established to meet acquisition, processing, information management, and 1200
product delivery requirements. The 3DHP concept of operations includes acquisition; inspection, validation, and 1201
acceptance; conflation; storage; data processing; product creation; and delivery. Product and data delivery 1202
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services will be defined during the development of the operations plan. The specific products will be refined and 1203
finalized according to the assessment of user product needs and according to continued product research. The 1204
3DHP operations planning activity will be initiated in early FY2022. It is anticipated that several operational 1205
phases will be included in the operations plan. The general phases for 3DHP data that must be taken to 1206
successfully move from current hydrography datasets to 3DHP are: 1207
• Complete current product updates while data acquisition begins. 1208
• Develop and implement a modernized production and delivery system. 1209
• Fully operationalize the production and delivery system. 1210
• Complete data acquisition and production. 1211
• Maintain data and begin updates as needed. 1212
Throughout these phases, the 3DHP Infostructure must be developed, tested, and operationalized to use the 1213
3DHP Datasets as the geospatial foundation. These actions will be addressed fully in 3DHP Operational Plans. It 1214
is expected this work will overlap depending on the sequencing of specific activities and funding levels for each 1215
of the major components. 1216
Research Requirements 1217
The 3DHP planning process identified numerous issues or questions for which additional assessments, 1218
evaluations, or research is required. For the purposes of this report, the term “research” has been broadly 1219
defined to cover issues and questions that need resolution. The acquisition, processing, archiving, and 1220
distribution of data for 3DHP require operational developments and some foundational and applied research. 1221
The 3DHP research needs are being addressed across several venues and organizations. 1222
Research will be undertaken by the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) for operational 1223
development activities, the USGS Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) for primary 1224
GIS and hydrography-related research, and USGS Water Resources Mission Area and broader community of 1225
researchers for basic hydrology-related research. 1226
Research requirements have been identified throughout this Call for Action. The research agenda will be 1227
managed as a cohesive activity within the NGP. The near-term and immediate requirements have been 1228
identified (Table 10). 1229
Timeframe Research Task
Near-Term Priority
Develop specifications and production processes for hydrologic units and hydrologically conditioned DEMs, and other 3DHP Datasets, including building hydrologic units from 3DEP data and catchments..
Develop accuracy specifications and inspection processes for 3DHP datasets.
Research existing hydrography geospatial schemas, including the OGC HY_Features model and adopt or develop a new 3DHP Datasets schema with a goal to simplify and merge the multiple datasets currently being supported.
Develop data production systems to transition to new 3DHP Datasets.
Research needs and options for mapping culverts directly into 3DHP datasets or using use hydrographic addressing to provide culverts through the 3DHP Infostructure.
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Investigate new ways to establish stable hydrographically addressed data including changes to the data model to support it.
Complete 3DHP Infostructure search and discovery tools and related web services.
Mid-Term Priority
Initiate a review of wetlands data, groundwater, and engineered hydrologic systems to determine the best approach to align or connect data with 3DHP Datasets.
Evaluate emerging water coordination and information services contributions to endeavors such as the IoW.
Conduct pilot projects and complete research to determine the best approach(es) to collect inland bathymetry data and to integrate that data with traditional terrestrial datasets.
Evaluate approaches for updating hydrography features based on changes in the terrain.
Long-Term Priority
Research 3D data models and determine suitability for a future integrated topographic data system to support advanced 3D modeling of the hydrologic and other processes. This research element contains several components, including:
• 3D representation models and 3D volumetric mapping including subsurface and atmospheric features.
• Data model organization techniques to effectively support “change over time” analysis.
• Improvement to 3D visualization of TNM layers (3D Topo, street view, and 3D features like overpass, bridge, tunnel, etc.)
• Technologies and knowledge graphs to enable integration of TNM layers in near-real time.
• Generalization (and multi-scale mapping) techniques that preserve important terrain feature attributes, such as surface water, landforms, and infrastructure.
• Use of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning techniques to handle large data volume analysis and feature extraction.
Table 10. Research requirements for the 3D Hydrography Program. 1230
Conclusions 1231
In 1884, Congress authorized the U.S. Geological Survey to begin systematic topographic mapping of the United 1232
States. The maps that have been made for more than 135 years have guided explorers, homesteaders, ranchers, 1233
miners, recreationists, natural resource managers, and a host of others. Water, from the beginning, has been 1234
represented on every map series ever produced by USGS. The water features that exist in our modern GIS 1235
databases almost all have roots that go back to the 7.5-minute topographic maps produced as paper maps until 1236
1991. USGS created digital data from these map sources and created GIS-capable datasets like the NHD, WBD, 1237
and NHDPlus HR, which have been managed and improved over time. A robust State-centric data stewardship 1238
program has been updating hydrography data and, in some cases, replacing legacy data with new data for entire 1239
states. Despite these efforts, much of the data in the current water datasets is from the era of paper maps and 1240
the resulting data are nationally inconsistent. 1241
The establishment of 3D National Hydrography Program marks the beginning of a new era to perform the first 1242
general update for all hydrography features in the United States and U.S. Territories since the completion of the 1243
last paper topographic map. The Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study, completed in 2016, is a 1244
comprehensive assessment of needs and potential new benefits that would result from modernizing water 1245
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mapping in the U.S. When completed, the availability of new water information will lead to more than $509 1246
million in new benefits every year. 1247
This report is a “Call for Action.” The public and private sectors that depend on high-quality water data have 1248
expressed the need for much better information to answer the most demanding water resource management 1249
questions. USGS proposes to work with partners to share the costs of a new program that will address these 1250
needs in as little as nine years, assuming the funds are available to complete the work. Federal, State, Tribal, and 1251
local governments are making investments to improve their water information, sometimes without the help of 1252
partnership investments. These new data do not always find their way into the national datasets. Government 1253
agencies need to respond to this Call for Action. The private sector will benefit from access to the best 1254
information to guide their activities. Together, the 3D Hydrography Program can be achieved. 1255
Much has changed since the last paper topographic map was made in 1991 and the needs for better water 1256
information have never been more urgent. The geospatial water data at USGS have evolved with changing 1257
technologies and continue to be useful for addressing many water resource management, natural disaster 1258
mitigation, and regulatory needs. Recent policy changes, prompted by climate change, needs for water quality 1259
improvements, and knowledge that water is a limited resource drove USGS to evaluate user needs and to 1260
recommend a new program to update and modernize hydrography and related data. The return on investment 1261
is significant. The need to support better water resources decisions cannot be overstated. 1262
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References Cited 1263
Archuleta, C.M., and Terziotti, S., 2020, Elevation-Derived Hydrography—Representation, Extraction, Attribution, 1264
and Delineation Rules: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 11, chap. B12, 60 p., 1265
https://doi.org/ 10.3133/ tm11B12. 1266
Aspen Institute, 2017, Internet of Water: Sharing and Integrating Water Data for Sustainability: The Aspen 1267
Institute. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Internet-of-Water-Report-May-1268
2017.pdf. 1269
Buto, S.G., and Anderson, R.D., 2020, NHDPlus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR)---A hydrography framework for the 1270
Nation: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2020-3033, 2 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20203033. ISSN: 2327-6932 1271
(online). 1272
Dewald, T., 2017, Making the Digital Water Flow: The Evolution of Geospatial Surfacewater Frameworks. USEPA 1273
Office of Water, Washington, DC. 1274
Dewberry, 2012, Final report of the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (revised March 29, 2012): Fairfax, 1275
Va., Dewberry, 84 p. plus appendixes A–J, http://www.dewberry. 1276
com/Consultants/GeospatialMapping/FinalReport-National EnhancedElevationAssessment. 1277
Dewberry, 2016, National Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study―Preliminary results: Fairfax, Va., 1278
Dewberry, May 20, 2016, 139 p. plus appendixes, accessed August 29, 2017, at http:// 1279
https://www.dewberry.com/services/geospatial/national-hydrography-requirements-and-benefits-study 1280
Executive Order 13956 of October 13, 2020 Modernizing America’s Water Resource Management and Water 1281
Infrastructure. [FR Doc. 2020–23116 Filed 10–15–20; 8:45 am] Billing code 3295–F1–P 1282
Frontier Development Lab, EARTH SCIENCE: Waters of the US, https://frontierdevelopmentlab.org/fdl2020, 1283
accessed 4/21/2021 1284
Office of Management and Budget, 2002, Coordination of geographic information and related spatial data 1285
activities (revised 2002): Office of Management and Budget Circular A–16, accessed February 21, 2014, at 1286
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a016_rev/. 1287
Ries, K.G., III, Newson, J.K., Smith, M.J., Guthrie, J.D., Steeves, P.A., Haluska, T.L., Kolb, K.R., Thompson, R.F., 1288
Santoro, R.D., and Vraga, H.W., 2017, StreamStats, version 4: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2017–3046, 4 p. 1289
[Also available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/fs20173046.] 1290
Smith, A.B., 2020, 2010‒2019, a landmark decade of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters: National 1291
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], NOAA Climate.gov, News and Features, Beyond the Data blog, 1292
January 8, 2020, accessed May 22, 2020, at https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2010- 1293
2019-landmark-decade-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate. 1294
Snyder, G.I., Sugarbaker, L.J., Jason, A.L., and Maune, D.F., 2014, National requirements for enhanced elevation 1295
data: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013 –1237, 371 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1237/. 1296
Sugarbaker, L.J., Constance, E.W., Heidemann, H.K., Jason, A.L., Lukas, Vicki, Saghy, D.L., and Stoker, J.M., 2014, 1297
The 3D Elevation Program initiative—A call for action: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1399, 35 p., accessed 1298
August 24, 2015, at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/cir1399. 1299
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Terziotti, S., Adkins, K., Aichele, S., Anderson, R., and Archuleta, C., 2018, Testing the Waters: Integrating 1300
Hydrography and Elevation in National Hydrography Mapping. Water Resources Impact, Vol 20, No 2, pps 28-29. 1301
Terziotti, S., and Archuleta, C.M., 2020, Elevation-Derived Hydrography Acquisition Specifications: U.S. 1302
Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 11, chap. B11, 74 p., https://doi.org/1 0.3133/ tm11B11. 1303
The National Landslide Preparedness Act, 2020, www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8810/text, 1304
accessed 5/5/2021 1305
The Navigable Waters Protection Rule, 2020: Definition of “Waters of the United States” [FR Doc. 2020-02500 1306
Filed 4-20-20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P 1307
USGS, PROSPER, https://www.usgs.gov/centers/wy-mt-water/science/probability-streamflow-permanence-1308
prosper, accessed 4/21/2021 1309
U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2013, 1310
Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) (4 ed.): U.S. Geological 1311
Survey Techniques and Methods 11–A3, 63 p. Available on the World Wide Web at 1312
http://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/tm11a3/. 1313
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Appendix 1. Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study Summary Tables 1314
The Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study (HRBS) (Dewberry, 2016), sponsored by the U.S. Geological 1315
Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 1316
was conducted to determine the requirements for hydrography information among Federal and State 1317
governments as well as select Tribal, private sector, and not-for-profit entities. Dewberry conducted the study, 1318
which was completed in 2016. The results of the study provided valuable insights to formulate the 1319
recommendation for a new 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) at USGS that would be more targeted to user 1320
needs. This appendix includes summary results of the technical requirements section of the study and the 1321
summary of current and potential future benefits organized by major business uses. These core requirements 1322
comprised the primary inputs for the three water information program scenarios identified in this 3D National 1323
Topography Model – 3D Hydrography Program Call for Action report. Complete HRBS results and data from the 1324
surveys summarized by multiple criterial can be found in the full HRBS report. 1325
The study included a multi-phased approach to identify organization Mission Critical Activities (MCAs), the 1326
hydrography information needed to support those activities, and the benefits that could be realized if those 1327
needs could be met. The first phase of the study identified MCAs with a survey administered by invitation to 1328
select organization managers responsible for programs identified by each of the participating organizations. 1329
Participants represented 21 Federal agencies and commissions, all 50 states, Washington, DC, and American 1330
Samoa. 53 local and regional government organizations, eight Tribal governments, 14 private companies, four 1331
associations, and 20 other not-for-profit entities. The raw results of the survey were compiled into a 1332
geodatabase. 1333
The second phase of the HRBS was a process to vet identified MCAs. Workshops were conducted for each 1334
participating organization and the survey results were reviewed, consolidated, and edited to create a final set of 1335
MCAs to be endorsed as the water information requirements for each participant organization. Dewberry 1336
conducted the Federal agency workshops and USGS National Map liaisons conducted the State workshops. 1337
When completed, a total of 420 MCAs were documented by 303 responding agencies or entities. 1338
The tables presented in this appendix show the MCA or organization counts for questions 44 through 71. 1339
Questions 1 through 42 were about the surveyed organizations and about geographic distribution of the 1340
identified requirements. Questions 43 through 57 were asked for every identified MCA. The maximum number 1341
of responses possible was 420, but the table results often total less than 420 since some questions were not 1342
answered by every survey respondent. Questions 58 through 71 were general questions about organization 1343
requirements. There were 76 organization entities (21 Federal agencies, 51 States, and four associations) where 1344
this general information was captured. Note that the State, local, and Tribal government agencies as well as the 1345
private and not-for-profit entities (except the four associations) were rolled up into the states’ responses for 1346
these questions. 1347
The results of Question 55 concern non-quantifiable operational and societal benefits that organizations are 1348
currently realizing from hydrographic information and are not included in this appendix. The results of Question 1349
58 are narratives describing the major new benefits identified in Question 57 and are not shown in this table. 1350
Question 60 asked if the respondent had additional MCAs and is omitted from this appendix as it was only used 1351
for survey navigation. Question 61 asks about ideal geographic extents needed to address needs, and Question 1352
62 asked about data types (formats) needed and is not included in this appendix. Most of the survey results 1353
from these omitted questions can be found in the full HRBS report (Dewberry, 2016). Some of the detailed 1354
narrative responses may not be in the report; however, they are available in the survey datasets. 1355
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HRBS Question 43. Which hydrography datasets are you currently using to address the water information needs of the Mission Critical Activity?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) 346 47 299 209 49 15 23 3
National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) 159 37 122 87 18 7 9 1
Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) 288 42 246 181 34 13 15 3
No Hydrography Data are currently being used 16 4 12 4 3 1 2 2
Other dataset 178 20 158 93 46 6 11 2
1357
HRBS Question 44. For the Mission Critical Activity that you specified, how frequently does the hydrographic information need to be updated to satisfy requirements?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
Annually 135 19 116 83 23 2 6 2
2-3 years 112 13 99 58 22 6 10 3
4-5 years 110 17 93 64 16 4 8 1
6-10 years 45 4 41 19 18 3 1 0
11+ years 18 1 17 13 1 1 0 2
1358
HRBS Question 45. For the Mission Critical Activity that you specified, how important is it to update the hydrographic information immediately following major events such as a hurricane or flood?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
Required 57 14 43 31 6 0 5 1
Highly Desirable 153 21 132 87 33 2 6 4
Nice To Have 156 17 139 90 26 11 12 0
Not Required 54 2 52 29 15 3 2 3
1359
HRBS Question 46. For the Mission Critical Activity that you specified, which of the following characteristics or features are required?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
Linkages to observations associated with stream gages 282 43 239 156 48 14 16 5
Wetlands 269 47 222 145 44 11 18 4
Flow periodicity (perennial, ephemeral, intermittent) - monthly EROM not these categories 267 43 224 149 44 10 17 4
Floodplain boundary 258 40 218 125 58 12 18 5
Bridges and culverts 229 37 192 115 51 11 12 3
Bankfull and/or flood stage 215 38 177 109 41 9 14 4
Built diversion lines (pipelines, canals, channels, conveyances) 213 38 175 117 34 7 15 2
Linkages to cross-sectional geometry of hydrologic features (i.e. elevation profile) 207 39 168 112 31 9 13 3
Lake and channel bathymetry 201 36 165 112 30 9 11 3
Left and right bank delineation (geometry that shows two banks instead of a centerline) 200 41 159 105 34 9 9 2
Velocity estimates and/or time of travel 200 40 160 100 35 8 14 3
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HRBS Question 46. For the Mission Critical Activity that you specified, which of the following characteristics or features are required?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
Built diversion points (gates) 175 37 138 92 24 8 11 3
Coastlines Core feature - copied over from CUSP 160 35 125 91 13 8 12 1
Estuaries 143 36 107 79 10 6 12 0
Leakage/seepage at natural points (sinks, springs) 118 32 86 62 10 5 7 2
Leakage/seepage along natural lines (for example, sandy-bottomed streams) 109 31 78 54 11 4 7 2
Coastal bathymetry 104 26 78 58 7 4 9 0
Other (please specify) 83 15 68 47 14 1 4 2
Deltas 83 31 52 35 4 4 8 1
Badlands 35 14 21 14 3 1 3 0
1360
HRBS Question 47. For the Mission Critical Activity that you specified, which analytical functions are required?
Responses ranked by total MCAs All
MCAs Federal Non-
Federal State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
Area analysis - Determine drainage area upstream from a point. 329 44 285 183 64 12 20 6
Area analysis - Find feature upstream or downstream within defined areas (i.e. watershed 284 42 242 157 49 13 15 8
Network analysis Navigate up or downstream on network 276 37 239 162 48 10 17 2
Area analysis – Determine area and boundary on the network of a catchment 273 42 231 146 55 10 16 4
Network analysis – Calculate stream distance to any point on the network 248 39 209 146 35 9 14 5
Area analysis – Determine downstream flood inundation area 210 36 174 106 43 7 15 3
On-network discovery – Find upstream or downstream points 214 38 176 117 34 8 12 5
On-network discovery – Calculate distance between points or other attributes on network 198 37 161 111 29 10 9 2
Visualization – View online hydrography service with my own service (mashups) 190 34 156 106 32 6 11 1
On-network discovery – Find upstream or downstream points 188 35 153 103 28 8 11 3
Visualization – View user defined symbolization for network lines and other features 185 35 150 104 25 6 11 4
Visualization – View preset symbolization for network lines and other features 184 33 151 100 27 10 10 4
Network analysis – Calculate time of travel to another point on the network 182 33 149 95 28 8 14 4
On-network discovery - Find features, events, or addresses (i.e. reach code) on network 173 33 140 93 25 9 11 2
Animations – Render and view time series information 104 23 81 52 11 7 9 2
HRBS Question 48. Please describe the level of hydrographic data integration with other datasets required for your Mission Critical Activity. For each data type, identify how important the analysis is and the highest level of analysis required.
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Responses ranked by total MCAs with a response of "Required"
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal Analysis Associate Visual None
Elevation 274 40 234 255 11 7 1
Streamflow 231 37 194 179 41 9 2
Land Cover 197 30 167 182 8 7 0
Wetlands 169 35 134 141 18 9 1
Soils 156 33 123 139 12 5 0
Point Discharges 139 23 116 108 28 2 1
Water Use: Diversions 126 24 102 100 20 5 1
USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) 124 30 94 96 24 4 0
USFWS National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) 117 27 90 103 8 6 0
USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID) 107 23 84 74 25 8 0
EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 99 11 88 74 21 4 0
Surficial Geology 92 20 72 79 8 5 0
Aquifers 89 16 73 74 12 3 0
Bathymetry 83 16 67 70 5 8 0
Climate 79 24 55 67 10 2 0
Contaminant Sources 79 12 67 69 8 1 1
USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) 62 22 40 49 11 2 0
EPA STOrage and RETrieval Data Warehouse (STORET) 55 9 46 37 18 0 0
Census (Population Statistics) 50 4 46 46 4 0 0
USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) 39 12 27 31 6 2 0
1361
HRBS Question 49. For the Mission Critical Activity that you selected, what positional accuracy is required for geographic features in the hydrography data?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
+/- 3 feet, 90% (1:1,200-scale) 149 13 136 64 54 6 8 4
+/- 7 feet, 90% (1:2,400-scale) 101 12 89 61 15 3 8 2
+/- 33 feet, 90% (1:12,000-scale) 70 10 60 46 6 4 4 0
+/- 40 feet, 90% (1:24,000-scale) 89 17 72 61 5 3 3 0
+/- 170 feet, 90% (1:100,000-scale) 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 0
+/- 420 feet, 90% (1:250,000-scale) 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
1362
HRBS Question 50. For the Mission Critical Activity that you selected, we need to understand the level of detail (stream density) that is required in the hydrographic data. Note that the equivalent mapping scale is shown in parenthesis. The number of stream miles per square miles is based on national averages for different mapping scales.
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
1.0 mile of surface water channel per square mile (1:100,000-scale) 39 1 38 17 12 2 5 2
2.5 miles of surface water channel per square mile (1:24,000-scale) 154 32 122 93 11 6 9 3
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The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program
Review Version 7.0, 7/22/2021 53
HRBS Question 50. For the Mission Critical Activity that you selected, we need to understand the level of detail (stream density) that is required in the hydrographic data. Note that the equivalent mapping scale is shown in parenthesis. The number of stream miles per square miles is based on national averages for different mapping scales.
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
5.0 miles of channel per square mile (1:5,000-scale mapping) 165 17 148 92 43 5 7 1
I don't know 55 4 51 31 14 3 2 1
1363
HRBS Question 51. For the Mission Critical Activity that you have identified, what is the smallest contributing area (watershed) for which a watercourse would need to be delineated?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
6 acres 122 11 111 69 33 2 5 2
60 acres 99 18 81 43 24 7 5 2
1 square mile (640 acres) 93 11 82 62 9 3 7 1
10 square miles (6,400 acres) 39 7 32 23 4 1 3 1
100 square miles (64,000 acres) 10 3 7 7 0 0 0 0
1000 square miles (640,000 acres) 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
I don't know 51 4 47 31 9 3 3 1
1364
HRBS Question 52. For the Mission Critical Activity what is the smallest mapped waterbody needed?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
Less than an acre 142 14 128 76 39 4 7 2
1 acre 105 14 91 59 15 4 11 2
2 acres 40 3 37 28 6 2 1 0
5 acres 67 9 58 39 12 3 3 1
10 acres 22 5 17 14 2 0 1 0
20 acres 25 7 18 10 4 2 0 2
Other (please specify) 13 2 11 8 2 1 0 0
1365
HRBS Question 53. For the selected Mission Critical Activity is it more important for hydrographic data to have the "best available" level of detail or is it more important to have a consistent level of detail?
All MCAs Federal
Non-Federal
State Gov’t.
Regional and
Local Private
Not-for-
Profit Tribal
Best Available 280 38 242 157 56 9 16 4
Consistent Level of Detail 134 16 118 77 24 7 7 3
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The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program
Review Version 7.0, 7/22/2021 54
BU Number
Business Uses (BUs) ranked by the greatest estimated average annual future dollar
benefits from enhanced hydrography data. This table also includes estimated annual
program budgets supported by hydrography data and estimated annual dollar benefits provided by the currently
available hydrography data.* Tota
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BU 1 River and Stream Flow Management 44 $763.58 $220.07 $154.73 97 107 39
BU 4 Water Quality 79 $1,672.41 $115.46 $121.48 189 254 68
BU 3 Water Resource Planning and Management 69 $988.88 $98.11 $115.88 155 168 70
BU 15 Flood Risk Management 54 $636.11 $56.12 $75.86 168 124 133
BU 5 River and Stream Ecosystem Management 34 $1,000.72 $13.96 $67.00 78 119 17
BU 2 Natural Resources Conservation 34 $6,956.80 $10.17 $17.76 84 111 19
BU 9 Wildlife and Habitat Management 8 $1,041.45 $0.18 $10.08 26 27 5
BU 20 Infrastructure and Construction Management
18 $1,088.72 $1.65 $8.73 53 60 26
BU 7 Forest Resources Management 5 $254.39 $1.76 $6.01 19 19 7
BU 6 Coastal Zone Management 8 $63.30 $10.71 $5.55 29 27 21
BU 18 Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Disaster Response
7 $1.75 $0.10 $5.50 18 13 12
BU 24 Education K-12 and Beyond 9 $1.56 $0.53 $5.36 28 26 3
BU 21 Urban and Regional Planning 17 $1,763.51 $2.17 $3.42 36 46 18
BU 10 Agriculture and Precision Farming 9 $21.75 $1.25 $2.15 21 34 7
BU 12 Resource Mining 2 $500.10 $1.03 $1.10 10 10 6
BU 13 Renewable Energy Resources 3 $1,547.85 $2.80 $0.58 1 5 0
BU 22 Health and Human Services 4 $58.45 $0.50 $0.50 11 16 1
BU 16 Sea Level Rise and Subsidence 2 $1.00 $0.35 $0.35 6 6 6
BU 25 Recreation 3 $2.90 $1.41 $0.17 11 11 7
BU 8 Rangeland Management 1 $20.43 $0.00 $0.10 3 5 0
BU 14 Oil and Gas Resources 3 $24.00 $0.10 $0.10 9 11 7
BU 19 Marine and Riverine Navigation Safety 3 $43.00 $0.03 $0.10 5 7 3
BU 11 Geologic Resource Assessment and Hazard Mitigation
3 $0.35 $0.04 $0.05 5 1 3
BU 17 Wildfire Management, Planning, and Response
1 $20.00 $0.01 $0.01 5 5 5
Total 420 $18,473.01 $538.50 $602.55 1067 1212 483
*Table is sorted by highest future annual dollar benefits. Dollar benefits are in constant 2016 U.S. dollars. To account for benefits that could not be quantified in terms of dollars, users were asked about potential qualitative future benefits. Weighted values are included here for the future qualitative benefits for education or public safety, environmental or ecosystems, and human lives saved. Each was quantified as Major, Moderate, or Minor. The weighting was done as follows: Major = 5, Moderate = 3, Minor = 1, Don’t Know, Not Applicable, No response = 0. Note that no dollar values were estimated for qualitative benefits. Question 55 characterized non-quantifiable current (existing) operational and societal benefits for current data and are not shown in this table. Question 58 results are narratives describing the major new benefits identified in Question 57 and are not shown in this table.
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The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action Part 1: 3D Hydrography Program
Review Version 7.0, 7/22/2021 55
HRBS Question 63. For your program, please rate the importance of each data or service access method.
Q63a. Services to discover standard data products. Total Federal State, Regional,
and Local Not-for-
Profit
Required 54 14 38 2
Highly Desirable 21 7 12 2
Nice to Have 1 0 1 0
Not Required 0 0 0 0
Q63b. Services to download standard data products. Total Federal State, Regional,
and Local Not-for-
Profit
Required 72 20 48 4
Highly Desirable 4 1 3 0
Nice to Have 0 0 0 0
Not Required 0 0 0 0
Q63c. Services to create and download customized data products. Total Federal State, Regional,
and Local Not-for-
Profit
Required 35 9 25 1
Highly Desirable 36 7 26 3
Nice to Have 5 5 0 0
Not Required 0 0 0 0
Q63d. Services to dynamically use data with client-based software (like a browser, GIS, or to feed other services). Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 46 10 34 2
Highly Desirable 25 9 15 1
Nice to Have 4 1 2 1
Not Required 1 1 0 0
Q63e. Services to visualize cartographically rendered and symbolized hydrography data. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 28 3 24 1
Highly Desirable 37 13 23 1
Nice to Have 11 5 4 2
Not Required 0 0 0 0
Q63f. Services that allow combination of visualizations with other visualization services (mashups). Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 19 3 15 1
Highly Desirable 39 11 26 2
Nice to Have 16 7 8 1
Not Required 1 0 1 0
Q63g. Services to create generalized versions of hydrography (different scales and level of detail). Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 25 4 20 1
Highly Desirable 42 13 26 3
Nice to Have 9 4 5 0
Not Required 0 0 0 0
Q63h. Services to support online analysis of hydrography information (such as StreamStats). Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 35 8 25 2
Highly Desirable 30 6 23 1
Nice to Have 9 5 3 1
Not Required 2 2 0 0
1368
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HRBS Question 64. For your program the level of hydrographic data integration with elevation data may be important. Please rate each type of elevation- hydrography integration as it relates to your program requirements.
Q64a. Rivers and streams in the hydrography dataset align with channels as defined from the elevation data at 1:12,000 scale or larger (3-meter DEM). Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 47 12 34 1
Highly Desirable 25 6 16 3
Nice to Have 3 2 1 0
Not Required 1 1 0 0
Q64b. Objects defined by elevation, such as a levee, are linked to a particular river in the hydrography dataset. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 33 7 24 2
Highly Desirable 31 8 22 1
Nice to Have 11 5 5 1
Not Required 1 1 0 0
Q64c. Hydrography and elevation data are packaged in a single product such as a TIN or a 3D dataset. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 22 6 15 1
Highly Desirable 38 9 27 2
Nice to Have 15 5 9 1
Not Required 1 1 0 0
Q64d. Hydrography data (streams, stream gages, dams, hydrologic units) along with elevation data (elevations, catchments, levees, floodplains) coexist within a common data model. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 39 6 29 4
Highly Desirable 32 11 21 0
Nice to Have 3 3 0 0
Not Required 2 1 1 0
Q64e. Perform synthesis such that streamflow can be estimated from elevation-based drainage area and other factors. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 27 5 20 2
Highly Desirable 43 12 30 1
Nice to Have 5 3 1 1
Not Required 1 1 0 0
Q64f. Produce data derivatives such that gradient can be calculated on a stream using elevation data. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 22 4 17 1
Highly Desirable 42 11 28 3
Nice to Have 10 4 6 0
Not Required 2 2 0 0
Q64g. Manage hydrography and elevation data as a unified activity always keeping both datasets synchronized with one another. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 28 8 19 1
Highly Desirable 36 6 28 2
Nice to Have 11 6 4 1
Not Required 1 1 0 0
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HRBS Question 64. For your program the level of hydrographic data integration with elevation data may be important. Please rate each type of elevation- hydrography integration as it relates to your program requirements.
Q64h. Ensure that hydrography and elevation data represent a similar point in time. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 32 9 22 1
Highly Desirable 37 10 26 1
Nice To Have 5 0 3 2
Not Required 2 2 0 0
Q64i. Both hydrography and elevation data are delivered in unison rather than two separate operations. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 20 6 14 0
Highly Desirable 41 9 29 3
Nice to Have 11 3 7 1
Not Required 4 3 1 0
HRBS Question 65. Elevation data is considered an important theme when working with hydrographic data. Specify the level of integration for raster elevation and hydrography data necessary for your work.
Q65a. Determine new flow paths across the land surface into existing stream channels. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 37 8 26 3
Highly Desirable 30 8 21 1
Nice to Have 7 3 4 0
Not Required 2 2 0 0
Q65b. Determine feature on the hydrographic network to which a point (with elevation value) is connected. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 31 6 23 2
Highly Desirable 30 8 21 1
Nice to Have 7 3 4 0
Not Required 2 2 0 0
Q65c. Determine the actual point location (within a DEM cell) on the hydrographic network to which a point is connected. Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Required 29 8 19 2
Highly Desirable 36 7 28 1
Nice to Have 8 4 3 1
Not Required 3 2 1 0
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HRBS Question 66. The map examples in this question illustrate common errors found in hydrographic datasets. For each map example listed below, please select a response that most closely represents the impact to your organization.
Q66a. In a series of lakes formed at gravel pits, one lake is missing from the NHD. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 23 4 19 0
Highly Impactful 26 5 20 1
Somewhat Impactful 24 11 11 2
Little or No Impact 3 1 1 1
Q66b. In a series of lakes formed at gravel pits, all lakes are missing from the NHD. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 33 6 26 1
Highly Impactful 28 7 19 2
Somewhat Impactful 12 6 5 1
Little or No Impact 3 2 1 0
Q66c. In a series of tributary streams, several streams do not connect with the main river. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 48 11 36 1
Highly Impactful 22 6 13 3
Somewhat Impactful 4 2 2 0
Little or No Impact 2 2 0 0
Q66d. A perennial stream is misnamed. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 29 7 22 0
Highly Impactful 26 4 21 1
Somewhat Impactful 17 8 7 2
Little or No Impact 4 2 1 1
Q66e. A large reservoir is misnamed. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 30 8 22 0
Highly Impactful 23 2 21 0
Somewhat Impactful 19 8 7 4
Little or No Impact 4 3 1 0
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HRBS Question 66. The map examples in this question illustrate common errors found in hydrographic datasets. For each map example listed below, please select a response that most closely represents the impact to your organization.
Q66f. A first order stream flow direction is reversed. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 38 8 29 1
Highly Impactful 25 6 17 2
Somewhat Impactful 10 4 5 1
Little or No Impact 3 3 0 0
Q66g. A second order stream flow direction is reversed. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 39 8 30 1
Highly Impactful 27 6 18 3
Somewhat Impactful 6 3 3 0
Little or No Impact 4 4 0 0
Q66h. A third order stream flow direction is reversed. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 43 8 33 2
Highly Impactful 22 5 15 2
Somewhat Impactful 7 4 3 0
Little or No Impact 4 4 0 0
Q66i. Two first order streams coded as perennial should be intermittent. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 24 5 18 1
Highly Impactful 24 4 19 1
Somewhat Impactful 24 9 13 2
Little or No Impact 4 3 1 0
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HRBS Question 67. The map examples in this question illustrate common positional accuracy errors found in hydrographic datasets. For each map example listed below, please select a response that most closely represents the impact to your organization.
Q67a. A meandering river represented in the NHD is overlaid over a contemporary image of the river. The position of the meanders has deviated over time with a mean error of 100 feet and a maximum error of 200 feet. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional,
and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 31 5 25 1
Highly Impactful 28 4 22 2
Somewhat Impactful 16 11 4 1
Little or No Impact 1 1 0 0
Q67b. An intermittent stream represented in the NHD is portrayed along with contours and shaded terrain. The stream appears to be misaligned with the terrain by a mean of 175 feet. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional,
and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 22 4 18 0
Highly Impactful 38 8 27 3
Somewhat Impactful 14 7 6 1
Little or No Impact 2 2 0 0
Q67c. An intermittent stream represented in the NHD is portrayed along with contours and shaded terrain. The stream appears to be misaligned with the terrain by a mean of 75 feet. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional,
and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 18 3 15 0
Highly Impactful 25 7 17 1
Somewhat Impactful 29 8 18 3
Little or No Impact 4 3 1 0
Q67d. A ridge line in the WBD is portrayed along with contours and shaded terrain. The ridge line appears to be misaligned with the terrain by a mean of 70 feet. Illustrated Total Federal
State, Regional,
and Local
Not-for-Profit
Critically Impactful 20 5 15 0
Highly Impactful 23 4 18 1
Somewhat Impactful 28 8 18 2
Little or No Impact 5 4 0 1
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HRBS Question 68. How accurate does the area of elevation derived catchments need to be, relative to their true ground position (reality)? Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Within 1% of actual area 19 6 13 0
Within 5% of actual area 49 12 33 4
Within 10% of actual area 8 3 5 0
HRBS Question 69. Differences in the way the WBD Hydrologic Units and NHDPlus catchments are defined lead to the situation that one cannot simply aggregate whole NHDPlus catchments to create replicas of the hydrologic units. How much of a problem does this situation pose to your program (all specified Mission Critical Activities)? Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Major problem – data cannot be used for Mission Critical Activity 25 6 18 1
Significant problem, but we have workarounds 4 1 2 1
Minor problem, requires some intervention 6 1 3 2
No problem at all 9 3 6 0
I don't know 32 10 22 0
HRBS Question 70. Would your program use a simple web map tool to highlight and report errors in the spatial hydrographic data? Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Yes 40 6 34 0
Probably 23 10 12 1
Maybe 10 4 5 1
No 3 1 0 2
HRBS Question 71. If your program reported an error in the hydrographic data, how quickly would that error need to be resolved? Total Federal
State, Regional, and Local
Not-for-Profit
Within 1 day 0 0 0 0
Within 2-30 days 30 12 16 2
Within 1-2 months 23 1 22 0
Within 3-6 months 9 3 6 0
Within 1 year 14 5 7 2