DigitalGlobe Supports EPA Compliance with New Surface Information Product

July 30/Satnews Daily/ -- DigitalGlobe has released its latest information product, DGStormWater, designed for city and county GIS coordinators, tax assessors, local utility companies, engineering firms and flood mapping organizations responsible for measuring and managing storm water runoff. The new product supports compliance with storm water management regulations mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

DGStormWater uses DigitalGlobe’s high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery to calculate the impervious surface area of a property in days versus months compared to existing data collection methods. This product also serves as valuable source data for hydrological and hydrographic modeling as well as floodplain and watershed management.

Denver Wastewater Management Division recently used DigitalGlobe’s products to maximize its storm water billing operation.

As of March 2003, all U.S. communities are required to comply with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program of the Clean Water Act.

“Many communities have struggled to find cost effective methods to comply with government regulations, and we believe that DGStormWater will provide a tool for helping those communities easily calculate and manage storm water runoff,” said Steve Jennings, vice president of marketing for DigitalGlobe.

“Traditionally, utility companies would send a person out to perform a manual calculation of impervious surfaces. An imagery-based solution can be utilized without having to leave the office, saving organizations substantial time and money,” he added.

DGStormWater, produced using recently collected 2-foot resolution, orthorectified QuickBird satellite imagery, can be employed by storm water managers, GIS departments, engineering project managers and emergency planners to assess storm water-related user fees based on accurate calculations of impervious surfaces – or hard surfaces such as building roofs, concrete and asphalt. Customers achieve fast turnaround time as well as substantial cost-savings that lead to a rapid return on investment. Also, organizations can comply with environment rules, reduce flood risks and protect habitats from erosion and pollution.

DGStormWater is available in two product modules, both of which include recently collected QuickBird imagery at 1”=400” (1:4,800 scale). They are delivered with a digital impervious surface map in a Shapefile format and a thematic raster map that quantifies pervious and impervious areas. The Impervious Surface Module is a critical input to hydrographic and hydrologic modeling packages and for watershed management. The Storm Water Utility Module is ideal for customers implementing or updating a storm water utility billing system. With this product module, DigitalGlobe delivers a Shapefile indicating area and percentage of impervious surface per parcel, as well as a Microsoft® Excel spreadsheet indicating area and percentage of impervious surface per parcel.

DGStormWater is easily integrated into existing GIS systems and leading spreadsheet packages for applications designed to improve urban runoff models and management programs, assess and improve water quality, monitor environmental impacts of increased or polluted runoff, and implement more accurate taxation in areas that impose storm water utility taxes.