Celebrating National Surveyor's Week

Accuracy. Expertise. Care.

This month we celebrated National Surveyors Week and it goes without saying that our survey team does work that touches everyday life. They're at local parks, establishing property boundary lines. They're at lakes, finding spots for public water drains. They're at community organizations, hospitals, landfills, shopping centers, parking lots, and the list goes on. And sometimes they're at their desk, turning valuable data into functional deliverables.

The SSM survey and data capture team collects and manages data that allows for the best designs, the most comprehensive solutions, and highly effective, efficient results.

Since 1932, we have consistently refined our practice while maintaining our values: to provide surveying services with accuracy, expertise, and care. Our expertise defies standard surveying boundaries thanks to our extensive experience. From expansion to preservation, land to buildings, residential properties to multi-faceted commercial spaces, and relocation all the way to revitalization- SSM surveyors solve problems.

At Spotts, Stevens and McCoy we’re here to help. Because what we do best, is what you don’t. Our surveyors see the world differently: through the vision of making the world a better place, through the lens of advanced technology, and through the eyes of precision and accuracy.

We like to say there are four things that make our surveyors unique:

1. At the forefront. We’ve been at the forefront of surveying expertise since 1932.

2. Pioneers. We’ve consistently pioneered new, cutting-edge technology in the field. From drone technology to automatic levels and high-definition scanners. We take pride in upping our technology game to decrease equipment error and increase results.

3. Know what it takes. We use the right equipment and the right skills for the job. Because when it comes to your projects, they shouldn’t just get done. They should get done correctly. And precision matters. Attention to detail matters. Expertise matters. You know the data you need, we know what it takes to get it.

4. Shared values. We provide quality work, with teamwork as our foundation and pride and integrity as our guides.

We thank our surveyors, for the skill in which they look at things, for the eyes through which they see the world, and for the points of view with which they bring to the table.

Case Study: National Water Quality Initiative Readiness Assessment Plan

Collective efforts of the local farmers and the Schuylkill Action Network (SAN) to improve water quality in Berks County.

Write-up courtesy of Kent Himelright, Watershed Coordinator, Berks County Conservation District

This case study highlights the collective efforts of local farmers and the Schuylkill Action Network (SAN) to improve water quality in Berks County. Through collaboration with the Natural Resource Conservation Resource (NRCS), the many partners of the Schuylkill Action Network, including Spotts, Stevens and McCoy, were able to engage the Reading Area Water Authority, and begin the process of developing a National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) Readiness Assessment Plan for the Maiden Creek Watershed. The goal of the Plan was to evaluate the water quality needs of the watershed’s Source Water Protection Areas and Public Water Systems.

As a result, the completion of Readiness Plan in 2019 yielded the allocation of $5 million over 5 years to implement agricultural conservation practices in the Maiden Creek Watershed.

Now, in it’s third year of implementation the NWQI and the many great farmers of the Maiden Creek watershed have allocated over $2 million and implemented dozens of conservation practices like manure storages, animal heavy use area protection, pasture management, and fencing to restrict livestock from waterways.

The implementation of these conservation practices helps improve water quality and keep our drinking water sources healthy. It has been the strong relations and cooperation between both conservation partners and agricultural operators that have made these worthwhile efforts possible.

Spottlight on Walter E. Spotts

“Engineers are plotters of direction and measurements – on land, sea, in the air and of all physical things. And in a sense, navigators to set a course to solve earthly problems. We are concerned with the direction from which the wind blows and advise our clients so that they might avoid the dangers of unexpected storms.”

Walter Spotts is the namesake for Spotts in Spotts, Stevens and McCoy.

Walter E. Spotts received technical training in the field of engineering at the Keystone Institute in Reading, having completed study in 1922. From this time until 1932, he was employed by William H. Dechant and Sons, Reading. A highlight of his employment was the layout of the Susquehanna Pipe Line from Chester PA to Syracuse, New York.

From 1932 to 1961, Mr. Spotts served as Owner and President of Walter E. Spotts and Associates. During these years, the firm provided consulting engineering services for nearly 40 municipalities. In 1961, the company was incorporated into the firm of Spotts Engineering Associates, Inc. and later merged with Stevens and McCoy, Inc. in 1970.

Through the years, Mr. Spotts received many awards and honors, including the PSPE - Reading Chapter "Engineer of the Year" award in 1963 and the Crostwaite Award (1961) and Outstanding Service Award (1971) from the Pennsylvania Association of Boroughs. Mr. Spotts was a member of the Pennsylvania Water Pollution Control Association and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

In addition to his engineering accomplishments, Mr. Spotts was also noted in the community for his activities as a bandleader and for his work in the Rajah Temple.

Wally Spotts (middle) with survey crew on Main Street in Kutztown PA.