Where 24k stream layers exist now, why not map new 24k data as lines along the stream rather than points?
It is true that 24k stream layers (hydrography) do exist for many areas of the state, but the hydrography is not consistent between these areas. The final format has yet to be adopted, and until it is, it would be more work to use the varied formats that exist to create the lines and then convert them to the new format once it is adopted. It will be much more efficient to convert the points to lines after the hydrography format has been finalized, because that way it will need to be done only once. In the interim, once we finalize the point data, it will be made publicly available. Where routed hydrography does exist, the data can be converted into linear events or coverages by those who would prefer it in that format. As time permits under this project, we will work to convert as much of this data as possible into a linear format where the route systems are stable and consistent relative to this data.
