Why Barnegat Township Started our GIS/GPS Program. Why Barnegat Township Started our GIS/GPS Program. 10/23/2015

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1 WATER & WASTEWATER GIS/GPS DATA SYSTEMS Why Barnegat Township Started our GIS/GPS Program. Roger Budd & John Randazzo Barnegat Water & Sewer Utilities Why Barnegat Township Started our GIS/GPS Program. NJDEP Regulations require a system who applies for a water main extension to have a GIS map of the water system as part of the permit process Locate all utilities: Water, Sewer & Stormwater Use as part of our asset management Creating a usable map of our entire system Our first GIS map really did not give us much information other than where our service areas are: Our first map did not show valves, hydrants or manholes Did not give us the size of every water main 1

2 We still believed it was not very accurate. The map shows water mains that run through residents yards where we know the mains run in the street. How We Got Started We started with our consultant converting the CAD drawings we have over the Township GIS Tax map to satisfy the DEP requirements for the permitting. WHAT WERE OUR OPTIONS TO CREATE THE MAPPING AND INVENTORY INFORMATION OF OUR ASSETS? Hire a consultant to come in and GPS all assets and create the different maps we desired. We had to purchase GPS handheld for the stormwater regulations. Our staff was already trained on our handheld and could collect the data points. We could GPS (collect the data) all our assets in-house and have our consultant create the maps. We could GPS all the assets and create our own maps. HIRING A CONSULTANT If we hired a consultant the cost could run extremely high Every time we need to add or change something on a map we would have to go back to the consultant. I also took into consideration consultants only being appointed in the Township per year. What happens when you change consultants? Software? What would I need to view the maps? Or would I just receive everything as a PDF file. Question on management of Databases and files. OUR STAFF TAKING THE GPS POINTS WITH A CONSULTANT TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN THE DATA FILES Cost savings because we would GPS the assets and perform corrections. We would have control over the original data files and could control the data quality on the GPS end. There is still the cost of a consultant correcting the geo database, maps and maintenance of the data files. There are still questions of software the Township would still have to purchase. Our staff is familiar with location of asset example in easements. 2

3 TAKING ON THE GPS/GIS IN-HOUSE WITH CURRENT STAFF We are already trained on how to use our Trimble handheld unit. We own a map scanner and printer. We would control quality of the data, maintain the data and could learn to create different maps We would still have our consultant, software and hardware manufacturers to help or answer questions. TAKING ON THE GPS/GIS IN-HOUSE WITH CURRENT STAFF (continued) We decide on tackling the project in house Where do we start? - Software for GIS? There are a few out there. - Training on software? (Rutgers or software company) - How to label and originate data - Where in town do you start and which assets do you start with? TAKING ON THE GPS/GIS PROJECT ESRI STATE CONTRACT EXTENSION Where to start? I set up a meeting with ESRI. I had past experience with their software. Our current consultant uses their software. They showed us ESRI online vs. purchasing the software licenses. THERE ARE MANY ADVANTAGES FOR A SYSTEM OUR SIZE WITH ESRI ONLINE The administrator has a lot of control over who has access to what files and maps. You can use ESRI online from an app on your smartphone or tablet allowing field staff to have access while out in the field. ESRI Explorer App for IPhone 3

4 ADVANTAGES OF ESRI ONLINE You can allow or give permission for other staff or professionals to view the mapping and information (ie: engineers, building dept). You can link information to your Township web page. An example would be posting of a service area where you are repairing a water main break so a customer can see if they are affected. ESRI ONLINE We decided on the online packages for its many advantages We signed a license agreement We had an ESRI Representative come out and launch our ESRI online and give us 3 days worth of onsite training. PRIOR TO THE LAUNCH OF ESRI ONLINE We were ready to go so we decided on a strategy of how we would collect all the data or points with our GPS (Trimble) handheld unit. We are a development based Town so we figured we would GPS all assets (fire hydrants, vales, manholes, etc.) at one time for each development instead of going back. We have our hydrants tagged and numbered and we have video inspections/cleaning records all of our sewer mains on hard drive and paper. HYDRANT INDENTIFICATION NUMBERING SEWER INSPECTION REPORT 4

5 PRIOR TO THE We decided we would start with the furthest and smallest development we had in Town. We GPS d the entire development; all hydrants, manholes, street valves boxes, curb stops, sewer cleanouts and storm drains. Pretty proud of ourselves HORIZONS DEVELOPMENT BACK TO THE LAUNCH OF ESRI ON LINE During the launch is where we found out how we would be taking the information we had collected with our handhelds and how we would create maps. With our license agreement we were given ArcMap Desktop to create the maps on a PC in our office. Once the maps are created you then have to publish them to ESRI online. A map is created for each application which allows the user to scroll and view it through the App on their phone. During the 3 days we were launching and training with the online program and learning ArcMap is when we discovered how much the software can do and how much data we would be managing. We were still determined to complete full developments. Our largest development has 1,200 homes. It was a bit overwhelming to say the least. At this point what I refer to as experience and my kids refer to as old comes in. I asked the trainer about different ways on how to take the project from data management to work flow. The conversation I had with the trainer was great. The following is what came out of that conversation. The best way to start is with collecting data for something that is manageable and you create a map with information that is usable by your staff. If we had to collect all assets in each development we would not have any useful information as far as the entire Town. We would only have had a few developments worth of info. We had an overview map of the water mains even though it was not 100% correct it was still useable information. We decided if we completed collecting GPS data of all our fire hydrants we would have completed one asset and could add that to the existing GIS map of our water mains. It would be usable information. 5

6 WATER METER PLACEMENT Our trainer wanted the launch to feel successful so he asked if there was any data he could convert for us to create a map that would be useful. We had all of our water meters by address and lot/block. 99% of the meters are inside the homes. Our trainer converted the excel spreadsheet into a Geo database and created a map for us showing our water system and the meters. We now had a better approach. We would complete collecting data for one asset at a time to be able to manage the data better and have something usable. We had a few maps published online and could access some information in the field with an App on a tablet or smartphone. LET S LOOK AT DATA COLLECTION Collecting good data with your handheld is key Reviewing that data points the following day to make sure you have collected data for each point Organizing your data into files (Data Management) We also had information the office staff could use to answer questions. Our office staff was given a log in and can now view the maps online. We still have areas of town that we do not supply water to and are private wells. Those areas have buildable lots available. People call asking if available lots in town have public water. DATA COLLECTION USING YOUR HANDHELD You create a Data Dictionary with the software that comes with your handheld. You download Data Dictionary to your handhold. We use a Trimble unit and their software. Each point we take will have two files: DATA COLLECTION USING YOUR HANDHELD (continued) Your Data Dictionary is the information you want to collect for that point. Example: Fire hydrant-manufacturer, year, size, flow, PSI, address. In our case we also use tag numbers. For a hydrant many of you may use a hydrant card like this one. You can use the information off the card to create your Data Dictionary. - One line the raw data - The other file will be the corrected file The following day we go through the corrected files to make sure the standard deviations show a data number and not?????. In our software we use timeline view and inspect each point for percentage of accuracy. The lower the number the better. If it shows questions we delete the point and the next day retake it. 6

7 DATA COLLECTION USING YOUR HANDHELD (continued) You go out with your handheld and start to GPS your assets Return back to shop to download information from the handheld to your PC DATA COLLECTION: MANAGEMENT OF FILES HYDRANT MAPPING Manage your files into file folders. We separate our raw data and corrected data into separate file folders Once you have corrected files you should have [what they call] a shape file. When you look at the file it should have the extension.shp Once we had all of our fire hydrants differently corrected and in one file folder we imported them into a Geo database in the ArcMap. We then used the file in our Geo database to create our hydrant map 7