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GIS Data Requests

GIS data for the general public and technical fields

The GIS Team is a strong advocate for sharing valuable geospatial data and deliverables with both the general public and those in technical fields (i.e. geography, hydrology, environmental science, engineering, etc.). To request a GIS service, please review the following options and, if applicable, submit a GIS data request below. The following options are the two primary ways to download GIS and LIDAR datasets from the River Authority.

Agency GIS Data

If you are requesting data that was used and/or produced by the San Antonio River Authority, please refer to our ExploreSARA open data portal.

LIDAR Data

The San Antonio River Authority is proud to offer LIDAR data at no cost to the requestor. LIDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, utilizes a suborbital platform with various instruments (i.e. laser, scanner, GIS receiver, etc.) to capture a visual representation of natural and man-made features found on the surface of the Earth. The output return of thousands of laser reflection points paints a vivid depiction of the physical features distributed across the study area, making LIDAR technology a valuable tool for terrain analysis. 

Below are two methods to gain access to our LIDAR data:

  1. Visit our open data LIDAR portal to view the following datasets currently available for download:
    • Bexar County
      • - 2010 Contours
      • - 2017 Contours
    • Wilson County
      • - 2013 Contours
    • Karnes County
      • - 2013 Contours
    • Goliad County
      • - 2009 Contours

  2. Submit a data request below and provide the GIS Team with an external hard drive that can store the requested dataset(s). Because most LIDAR datasets are 1TB or larger in size, please provide a hard drive of 2TB or larger.

    When requesting specific LIDAR dataset, please provide the GIS Team with the particular types of LIDAR data (i.e. contours, DEMs, raw files, etc.) that you would like to receive.

Other GIS Data Sources

For all information and GIS data related to floodplain and watershed management but not maintained by the San Antonio River Authority, please refer to the following local, regional, state, and national entities.

• Local Organizations
    - City of San Antonio
    - Bexar County
    - San Antonio Water System

• Regional Organizations
    - Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA)

• State Organizations
    - Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
    - Texas Natural Resource Information System (TNRIS)
    - Texas Water Development Board (TPWD)
    - Texas General Land Office (Texas GLO)

• National Organizations
    - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
    - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
    - United States Geologic Survey (USGS)

The GIS Team will respond to your request within three to five business days. We cannot guarantee a custom, short turn-around time for data requests, so please submit your request well in advance of your project’s due date.