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Many Minnesota homeowners spend money on expensive federal flood insurance, unnecessarily, because old floodplain maps incorrectly identify them as living within the floodplain. On the other hand, many other homeowners are in danger of losing their homes to floods and do not have the insurance necessary to rebuild, because old maps do not accurately reflect their risk. The state has other significant uses for high-resolution DEMs. One example comes from hy- drologists at MnDOT who talk about it as "Heaven on Earth." They say the data would lead to increased efficiency and quality in hydrologic and hydraulic analysis and design -work impor- tant for dealing with water flowing off roadways or under them. DEM data would support transportation project streamlining because preliminary drainage design work could begin with- out waiting for drainage area mapping to be completed. The DEM data would also support better communication about drainage issues within MnDOT, other governmental units and the public, because of the ability to create clearly understood 3-dimensional graphics. Soil maps are critical for farmers, developers and natural resource managers. Many Minnesota counties have older soil maps that can be upgraded by utilizing DEMs to correct spatial displace- ment of soil boundaries. The University of Minnesota has developed a process that worked successfully in many counties 3High-resolution DEMs could improve this process and help more counties get the soil maps they need. Local government would also benefit from ahigh-resolution DEM. Dakota County has worked with ll of its cities and an electric utility to create a powerful GIS that includes high-resolution elevation data.' The elevation data proved particularly useful to the City of Burnsville in bidding 3 National Research Council. 2001. NSDI Partnership Programs: Rethinklug the Focus, National Academy Press: Washington, D.C., page 43. ~ Craig, William J. and Donald D. Johnson. 1.997. GIS Technology Benefits Add Up in Dakota County/Cities Partnership, Minnesota Cities, January/February, pp. 10-12.