As featured in the Fall 2008 Pennsylvania Rural Water Association publication Keystone Tap.

As every operator knows, managing a water or wastewater system is a challenge. With more
and more data available and increasing regulation and oversight, how can operators keep track of
it all? Many water/wastewater suppliers are turning to geographic information systems (GIS) to help them monitor, manage, and maintain their system.

What, exactly, is a GIS? It is a powerful computer application that can store and analyze
information for your system – pipe inverts, manholes, fire hydrants, stormwater outfalls – and, more importantly, show you on a map where everything is located. Let's say, for example, you want to set up a plan for inspecting manholes. The GIS can keep track of which manholes have already been inspected, and which ones are scheduled for next inspection/service year. You can input the date of inspection, the manhole condition, and pipe invert elevations. As you enter data from the field inspections, the GIS can display maps – you can visually see what areas have already been inspected, and which manholes have problems.

If you run a water system, a GIS can be created to keep track of the entire system's infrastructure – intakes, wells, tanks, pipes, valves, pumps, hydrants, and meters. Data is transferred from old paper plans to the GIS, where it can easily be updated. The GIS can store valuable information like pipe diameters, hydrant numbers, materials, inspections and flushing, sampling and testing, elevation, roughness, and pressure. In addition, the GIS can be used as a management tool – you can query and map maintenance activities, determine the best location for shut-offs, and flag the properties that will be affected.

A GIS is equally useful for wastewater and stormwater systems. It can keep track of pipes,
swales, end walls, inlets, and manholes – all of which can be overlaid on three-dimensional terrain. If you have a combined system, or if sewer overflows are a problem, data in the GIS can be queried and analyzed to find out more about the system in the problem areas. This analysis would help identify the factors contributing to the problem.

Once the GIS has been developed for the water or wastewater system, other applications
make it user-friendly for the operators and staff. For example, a program called ArcPad allows you to upload data from the GIS onto a hand-held device, go out into the field for inspections or repairs, and then download the new information back to the GIS. ArcPad makes data entry easier for field personnel, reduces the likelihood for mistakes when copying field notes, and ensures that the GIS is kept up-to-date.

Are you interested in source water protection? A GIS can keep track of the many factors that
affect your raw water supply. Land use, land ownership, zoning, land slopes, soil types, geology, water quality, and possible contamination sources can all be input to the GIS. Analyzing these features can help you identify threats to your water supply and possible strategies for protecting it.

The most difficult part of using a GIS is getting started. Data from your system has to be input
from existing plans or drawings. But once the GIS is up and running, it is an invaluable tool for the day-to-day management and operation of your system. It can be used as an effective planning tool for future protection and expansion. It can produce maps that help you identify patterns, features,and problems in your system. And lastly, GIS provides the means of storing and communicating the overall system knowledge that is usually stored in the head of a senior staff member approaching the golden years.


Written by: Abdul Abdelrasoul – GIS Specialist
Clark University, MA, M.A., International Development and GIS, 1996
University of Khartoum, Sudan, B.A. (Honors), Geography, 1992
Mr. Abdelrasoul has experience managing complex GIS projects for utilities, local
government, and industry, including GIS strategic planning, database design and
development, system integration, system implementation, and extensive spatial
analysis, modeling and application development.



Read the Full Issue of Keystone Tap

Keystone Tap Fall 2008