USACE Surveys

USACE surveys are the hydrographic and condition surveys the US Army Corps of Engineers runs to maintain the federal navigation channels, harbors, and inland waterways it has authority over. The Corps sounds project channels with single-beam and multibeam systems to track shoaling against the authorized project depth, schedule dredging, and certify controlling depths for mariners. Survey practice follows the USACE Engineering Manual EM 1110-2-1003 (Hydrographic Surveying), which sets the accuracy classes, vertical datum reduction, and quality-assurance steps. Depths are reduced to the relevant low-water datum so dredging contracts and channel availability reports stay consistent with the charted controlling depth.