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Victoria County OKs funding to expand 1-foot LIDAR elevation mapping with City
Summary
Commissioners approved county participation in a City of Victoria contract amendment to extend 1-foot elevation contours (LIDAR/DEM) countywide, authorizing funding and an interlocal agreement to refine flood risk, drainage and other topographic analyses.
Victoria County Commissioners Court voted Sept. 15 to participate in an updated LIDAR/DEM contract with the City of Victoria that will extend 1-foot elevation contours beyond city limits into county areas. Commissioners authorized the county judge to execute an interlocal agreement pending legal review and directed staff to move forward before the contractor quote expired Oct. 1.
The map data, collected by airborne LIDAR and processed into digital elevation models (DEMs) and 1-foot contours, will provide much finer topographic detail than the U.S. Geological Survey’s five-foot contours now in common use. Avery, a county staff presenter, told the court the vendor’s quoted cost for the county portion was $120,648 of a $165,184 total contract; the city’s contract portion was listed as $44,536. Avery said the full area to be processed would cover roughly 890 square miles of county territory.
County officials said higher-resolution contours will support drainage and flood-risk analyses used for hydrologic and hydraulic modeling (for example, HEC-HMS), potential letters of map revision and homeowner notification for flood risk. Avery emphasized that contours alone do not show subsurface storm infrastructure or at-grade improvements and that additional modeling is required to determine detailed flow paths. The presenter said the city’s planned update to its planimetric data and aerial imagery would take place between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 and that the county needed to decide quickly because the contractor quote expires Oct. 1.
Commissioners discussed the potential value beyond drainage work — including historical feature detection — and approved the funding authorization and interlocal direction. The motion passed with the court answering “Aye” and the judge declaring the motion carried.
The county will coordinate with the City of Victoria’s development services and GIS departments and the Golden Crescent Regional Planning Commission to amend the city contract and add county coverage. Next steps described by staff include formalizing the interlocal agreement, amendment of the city contract by city council, and subsequent execution by the county judge so the vendor can begin data collection and processing.
