<CZ>Česko bude mít nový výškový model území</CZ> <EN>Czech Republic will have a new elevation model of the territory</EN>

Hradec Králové - The Czech Republic should have a new computer elevation model of its territory within five years. It should be much more accurate than the existing elevation model created more than 40 years ago. The new model is expected to be used for creating flood protection structures, for example. Karel Večeře, the chairman of the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (ČÚZK), said this today at the conference Internet in State Administration and Self-Government.
    "The entire project is starting this year. The elevation model is one of the important data bases that the Czech Republic currently lacks," Večeře said. The creation of the new model is a joint project of ČÚZK and the ministries of defense and agriculture. The project costs are estimated to exceed 100 million crowns.
    For three years, military pilots will be photographing the territory of the republic. With an interval of six months to a year, a less accurate model will be available after photographing a third of the territory. "The most accurate model will be available approximately two years after the completion of the three-year photographing cycle," Večeře said. The photographing can only be done outside the growing season.
    In the currently used elevation model, inaccuracies in height determination in uncovered flat areas can reach up to two meters, and in forested terrain, up to five meters. For the new model, surveyors will utilize modern airborne laser scanning technology. Many European countries are already using it to create elevation models with decimeter accuracy.
    After photographing the surface of the republic, both a model of the terrain itself and a model of the so-called coverage, meaning buildings and forests, should be created. In addition to the ministries of agriculture and defense, experts from other areas of public administration are expected to work with the model. "It will also be used for proposals for routing communications, large constructions, and water works," Večeře said.