Galveston District to Update Navigation Channel Data Online

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District has finished uploading deep-draft navigation channel data on its hydrographic surveys webpage. This year the district will begin posting the same data for shallow-draft channels its maintains along the Texas coast. The data can be found at http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation.aspx.

Staff began making this data available to the public in May 2014 using the Corps’ eHydro Navigation channel condition software to post hydrographic survey data for the channels within the Houston-Galveston-Texas City navigation complex.

“The survey maps you see online are the end product of the Corps’ enterprise eHydro software” Rob Thomas USACE Galveston District’s Hydraulics and Hydrology-Water Management Branch chief said. “The survey maps provide data including the most recent channel depths channel boundaries location of aids to navigation (buoys and markers) channel stationing as well as the latest aerial imagery. This tool allows us to provide consistent survey plots channel tabulations and produce channel condition reports.”

According to Thomas the software is designed to easily integrate into the district’s normal survey data processing workflow and reduces the time and costs required to produce similar reports. He added that the district showcased the online hydrographic surveys during the 2014 Dredging Meeting last month and received positive feedback from the navigation community.