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EIVEFII°S of DEVELOPING a and FLOG®PLA,1N APING The availability of a statewide high-resolution DEM will herald a sweeping change in how we do business in Minnesota. The State of North Carolina conducted a study of the benefit/cost ratio for its program of developing a DEM and floodplain mapping program. The result was an astounding ratio of 3.5:1. In other words, for every $1 that the State of North Carolina spent on this program, the rate of return was $3.50. If the State of Minnesota implements this program, the savings would be tremendous, benefitting state and local governments and private firms. Some of the activities that would benefit from ahigh-resolution DEM are as follows. Additional information is provided in the appendix on pages 9-11. Eccurate >F'loodplain Maps. Accurate mapping of flood hazard areas would improve the planning and siting of flood protection measures and administra*ion of the NFIP and the state Floodplain Management Act. In addition, homeowners would not be required to buy costly flood insurance if they are not in a floodplain. High-resolution DEMs will reduce a homeowner's expense in providing more accurate survey data required in the letter of map revision (LOMR) and letter of map amendment (COMA) applications. In new flood insurance studies (FISs), the updated flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) will benefit from more accurate mapping and will reduce costs in administering revisions or amendments to the effective floodplain mapping. Transportation Infrastructure. Planning, design, constriction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure benefits greatly by the availability of accurate and comprehensive high-resolution terrain data. This data would lead to increased efficiency and quality in hydrologic and hydraulic analysis and design work important for dealing with water flowing off or under roadways. DEM data would support transportation project streamlining because preliminary drainage design could begin without waiting for drainage area mapping to be completed. The DEM data will also support better communication about drainage issues, both within Mn/DOT, other government units and the public, because of the ability to create clearly understood graphics. Land Use Management. Availability and use of a DEM would expedite planning and development of land use for precision agriculture, drainage systems, land subdivision, utilities, commercial and industrial districts, etc., and improve the quality of soils mapping. Washington County, for example, uses DEMs to help make a wide variety of land-use decisions - see page 11. ___ 4 ~A