High-Definition Survey of the LaPorte Wastewater Treatment Plant

PBS&J used high-definition survey techniques to conduct an as-built and topographic survey for LaPorte's wastewater treatment facility.

The City of La Porte, Texas relied upon PBS&J’s skilled use of high-definition surveying to perform a detailed as-built and topographic survey of their wastewater treatment facility. PBS&J used a Leica HDS-2500 3D Laser Scanner to acquire detailed information for the plant's basins, buildings, piping, and structural elements. Leica Geosystems Cloudworx was also used to create a planimetric and contour map by manipulating the point cloud data directly within AutoCAD.

The firm used conventional surveying methods to capture supplemental topographic information, validate the scan data, and reference all of the point cloud data to established horizontal and vertical controls. PBS&J was able to capture this data with only one day in the field and two days of processing time. The point cloud data was referred to on numerous occasions to verify existing conditions of other items and eliminating the need for additional site visits. The benefits of using laser scanning for this project included:

• Faster data acquisition.
• Safer working conditions by scanning from secure walkways.
• Capture of detailed data beyond the initial project scope which could be used without the need for additional field verification.
• The Registered Point Cloud was referenced directly into Autodesk Land Desktop, allowing faster delivery of the finished product.