Topographic Surveys 

The success of any construction project depends heavily on the quality and accuracy of the topographic base map.  Incomplete or inaccurate base maps can result in design issues during construction, causing costly delays and additional expenses.  LDSI has a wide range of experience in providing quality design surveys for architectural and engineering design on all types of projects.  With a licensed Professional Engineer on staff, LDSI has the ability to anticipate the designers needs thereby providing “one step ahead” service.  We are mindful of the time constraints often placed on preliminary design projects, and are therefore ready to respond quickly to the special needs of our clients.

Construction Stakeout 

The role of the surveyor in construction is often underestimated.  Surveyors are an essential part of design/build community that includes engineers, architects and contractors.  LDSI provides grade and pipe staking, building layout, earthwork quantity verification and as-built data collection/drawing preparation.  Our experienced field crews along with our quality control measures help identify potential problems before they get built.

A geographic information system (GIS) as defined by ESRI, integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information. GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.  A GIS helps you answer questions and solve problems by looking at your data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared.  GIS technology can be integrated into any enterprise information system framework.

LDSI’s GIS capabilities have grown over the years from the most basic and simple tasks of providing base data for CAD users to the creation of complex file Geodatabases for large inventory projects.  We utilize the very latest software technology offered by ESRI’s GIS Suite of products.  We have the experience necessary to perform complex spatial analysis such as population density studies, network analysis involving drive time service areas and shortest route delineation, as well as three dimensional analysis for steep slopes delineation to list only a few GIS applications.  We take pride in the production of high quality presentation maps involving the use of the most current cartographic techniques available.  Data collection, data management and data analysis.  LDSI can provide a solution for your project.

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS)

sUAS is one of the new tools for design surveying services.  These systems are being used for mapping, aerial imagery, inspections, stockpile mapping & volumes and Project Management.  PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP suggest that commercial applications of sUAS technology is expected to grow into a $125+ billion industry by 2020.

sUAS mapping has evolved over the past couple of years and continues to grow as hardware and software capabilities gets better, costs are going down.  Today you can have aircraft that carry many different payloads that capture many different kinds of data.  There are standard RBG cameras that collect high resolution photos that can be utilized in creating a high resolution mosaic image that is geo-referenced and generate a point cloud based upon the pixels.  Infrared cameras are used to inspect solar farms; monitor crops & forest; search & rescue; pipeline inspections; leak detection and building efficiencies.  Multi-Spectrum Sensors are generally associated with Precision Agriculture and can provide data on several traits, such as emergence; vigor/greenness; water stress and yield potential.  LiDAR scanners that provide precise elevation data and dense point clouds to provide topographic mapping, even in canopy.

LDS has 3 aircraft and two certified FAA Part 107 Remote Pilots on staff.  We are available to discuss your project to see if sUAS is the right tool for your project.

There are millions of miles of underground utilities in the United States. Construction records of these utilities are often poor or inadequate which contribute to the potential of utility damage during new construction. This is a major industry concern. LDSI, Inc. has the ability to determine the precise location of underground utilities to avoid potential conflict with new construction and resulting construction delays, re-design, utility damage or personal injury.

SUE is an engineering practice that has evolved considerably over the past few decades. The SUE process combines civil engineering, surveying, and geophysics. It utilizes several technologies, including vacuum excavation and surface geophysics.

Subsurface Utility Engineering can be used with good results on roads, airport, railroad, transit, building construction, military, sanitation, nuclear, and any other public works projects where underground utilities may be encountered. It can also be used for environmental purposes, such as detecting and mapping underground storage tanks, septic fields, and even contaminants. SUE adds value, quality, and accountability to any project.

LDSI,  Inc. can perform subsurface utility engineering at Quality Levels A-D based on your needs. Our goal is to eliminate delays and extra costs associated with existing underground utilities. Doing so not only increases safety, but reduces economic loss in the project planning and construction phase.

Stormwater Management

Stormwater is water that runs off surfaces during and after precipitation events.  This water makes its way through drainage infrastructure to several places such as creeks, streams, wetlands, culverts, stormwater BMPs, oceans, ponds, or returns to the atmosphere as evaporation.  At times drainage infrastructure needs repair or improvements due to:

• Changes to the surrounds – for example, a forested area is developed into a new subdivision or an area that was once zoned for single family homes is now a mall
• Degradation of infrastructure – according to the 2017 infrastructure report card (www.infastruturereportcard.org) the average age of the US’s 90,580 dams is 56 years old and will require 45 billion dollars to repair
• Technology Improvements – through water quality research, ordinances now require stormwater best management practices and erosion and sediment control practices
• Degradation of natural resources – when changes are made to surrounding landscape, burdens on the natural system can develop.  These changes can cause channels to incise and wetlands to fill to capacity, both increasing water of flow that does not allow natural purification processes.

Stormwater management is key to assist with drainage issues.  It is becoming an all too often occurrence as news and weather media advises of flooded conditions impacting our roads, bridges, businesses and even homes.  Our landscapes are under constant change and with these changes the amount of runoff we experience also changes.  To manage the stormwater and minimize flood conditions, it is often necessary to improve infrastructure.  We have experienced staff members committed to providing sound and accurate solutions for your stormwater issues. Our surveyors and engineers are mindful of time constraints and can respond quickly to different needs and requests of clients.  We assist our clients with infrastructure inventory, inventory assessment, improvement projects, and stormwater planning.  With years of experience, our water resource team can assist you with all your stormwater management needs.  LDSI staff members have served clients including USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service; State, County, and Local governments; utility companies; stewardship organizations; and private developers.

Natural Resource Restoration

Natural resource restoration primarily focuses on stream and wetland restoration; these resources are often overlooked, but vital as stormwater makes its way downstream.  These stream and wetland resources can become degraded from excess runoff leading to enlarged channels, bank failures, encroachment on public utilities or structures, or become engulfed by the increase in water volume so that it cannot be treated before being discharged into sensitive waters. Degradations often lead to poor water quality and significant cost to customers to remove sediment from drinking water or loss of beach access/fisheries because of containments.  LDSI’s water resource team has members with Master’s education and thirty years of experience within this discipline.  We offer personalized solutions and have experience in managing any natural resource restoration need.  We have worked on stream projects as small as a couple of hundred feet to projects with miles of restoration; wetland projects as small as half an acre to the restoration of 4,500 acres on a single project.  Our team has experience totaling 122,000 linear feet of streams and headwater sloughs, 223,000 linear feet of ditch-plug and dikes, as well as 25,000 acres of wetland restored.

Stormwater Quality

Several of our water quality projects originated from developers need for stormwater or erosion and sediment control permits and the want or need to install an innovative stormwater best management practice (BMP).  Other times our skills are requested by stewardship organizations or local governments that need to convert older stormwater BMPs into an innovative BMP that can increase water quality treatment.  LDSI’s water resource team can provide our clients with innovative approaches to water quality, ensuring the most treatment for the resources expended.  The team also works with clients to ensure that the BMP is not only a functional part of the infrastructure but is also atheistically pleasing.  With many governing bodies now requiring annual maintenance and inspections, we can design the BMPs with maintenance in mind and also work with you to develop an operation and maintenance schedule.

Hydraulic and Hydrologic Analysis

LDSI’s water resource team has experience with H&H (hydraulic and hydrologic) projects from work on flood studies for bridge replacement projects to work with drainage water management agencies on their interconnected ponds and building an effective model to monitor water levels within connected detention basins.  The members of the water resource team have experience in coordinating with local floodplain managers and FEMA to permit certified letters of map revisions (CLOMRs), letters of map revision (LOMRs), or NO-RISE/NO-IMPACT certifications.  LDSI also has experience with floodplain feasibility studies; studies of flooding frequency and running statistical analysis as to the best course of action for a client to take to protect the community and residences from flooding that occurs at regular or irregular intervals.