A nearly half-million-dollar mapping project could give Boone County government and private developers a much more accurate and more useful view of topography by 2010.

The Boone County Commission today was expected to give final approval to a $486,900 project to provide a three-dimensional, radar-generated topographic and planimetric map of the entire county. The cost would be paid from the county’s assessment fund. The Sanborn Map Co. of Chesterfield was the winning bidder.

Jason Warzinik, Boone County’s GIS system manager, said the most useful feature of the new mapping system will be elevation information based on 2-foot increments, or contours. The county’s existing aerial maps show ground elevations based on 10- or 20-foot contours, which Warzinik called a "flat representation of the county."

"There’s a long list of projects it’s going to help with," Warzinik said. "Countywide, there’s great interest in the elevation information. I don’t think we’ve even thought of all the uses" for the technology.

For instance, Warzinik said, the Boone County Public Works Department will use the information when determining the size and location of culverts and for preliminary design of roads and bridges.

"It’s going to be a time-saver and a cost-saver when they’re looking at doing design work or engineering work," he said.

Boone County Assessor Tom Schauwecker called the new elevation information "the missing piece" in the equation for properly classifying soil - a significant factor in the assessment of agricultural property values.

"It will enhance our efficiency," Schauwecker said, pointing out that the assessment fund has a "healthy unreserved fund balance."

"I have a need, and I have the money," he said. "It’s a win-win. It will help everyone in the county."

Schauwecker said the city of Columbia already has a 2-foot contour aerial map for land inside city limits. "We’re filling in the gaps" by mapping the rest of the county, he added.

The new map also will contribute significantly to the county building and planning department’s storm-water management efforts.

"The elevation information that we’re going to get is going to help them calculate storm-water flow and figure out where the storm-water buffer must go," Warzinik said. In addition, a more accurate representation of structures and buildings will be useful for planning and zoning purposes.

Warzinik said there is a possibility the project could be expanded to include a more regional map if matching funds are made available by the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey. Those agencies are expected to have a funding answer in a couple of months, he said. That partnership would decrease the county’s cost, and if those agencies become involved, the information would also be shared with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster preparedness.

The county would also be able to recoup some of its cost by making digital copies of the map available to civil engineers and property developers.

"There is a demand for this from the private sector," Schauwecker said.

Sanborn Map will make two mapping flights before the end of March, with all data expected back in the next 12 months.

In addition to aerial photography, the mapping technology utilizes LiDAR - Light Detection and Ranging - to determine almost pinpoint accuracy. "Anywhere in Boone County, we’ll be able to tell you what the elevation is within 1 foot," Warzinik said.

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