From Paper to Pixels

Public utitlities are challenged on a continous basis. Infrastructure is always aging. Demands on a system grow while budgets never seem to do the same. Throw in staff retention, technology changes, and the occasional natural disaster - life operating a utility can be tough!

Let's talk staffing for a moment. For our water utility, there is not a lot of turnover in office or management staff. That's a good thing. But it also doesn't foster the career growth that today's workforce has come to expect. All this to be said - there is a lot of corporate knowledge that is lost when organizations don't put it somewhere for those who follow.

Two recent events where a lot of water supply information - accurate information - wasn't accessible, illustrate the need to plan for the future by taking action now.

Providing the best quality water to it's customers has always been the priority at OCWD! A staff of 20 serves more than 8900 metered customers. The organization has been a long-time user of mapping technology. Located adjacent to the State of Kentucky's largest city, OCWD is still considered a rural water district. Some quick facts -

• Water is sourced from 10 wells along the Ohio River
• The wells are 130 feet deep in the aquifer
• The system has 370 miles of water main
• There are 13 water tanks for system storage
• 3.5 million gallons of daily water use
• 13 million gallons of daily treatment capacity
• 1.2 billion gallons of water treated annually

With a geographic information system, access and display of system data is only limited by the imagination. Technology is evolving that makes some tasks seem simple. Because they are! Whether using an enterprise system or hosted services in ArcGIS Online (AGOL), there are many options for real time situational awareness.

This is the operations dashboard that indicates field collection activity. The points being collected are added to the authoritative component layers with ArcGIS Pro desktop software. The layers are then published as hosted service in AGOL.

Kentucky state law requires water systems sample two locations every day of the year. A minimum of 2 must be checked for total and free cholorine levels. OCWD has broken the county into segment and sample 4 locations. A flushing app was created using Esri Field Maps and Survey123 enabling the sample person to record using the map. When samples are taken, they are added to the dashboard below. In addition, each submission uses a webhook to automatically send an email to management indicating the sample has been taken.

In order to keep everyone on the same page, the office staff have access to the OCWD Map. This is a comprehensive web map that includes near real time vehicle locations. The field staff can also view the same map on thier mobile device through a web browser. Outside map services are also used that include the latest imagery from the Louisville GIS consortium (LOJIC). Streets, parcels, and address points are public facing services being used also. This insures the latest information is available.

Not all utility data is required to be made available to the public. Many times organizations do themselves an injustice by not showing the community the services they perform that ideally go unnoticed. Dashboards, map based tools, and Story Maps can be used to communicate what day-to-day life looks like for a water and wastewater and touting the good services that are provided!

The best part - much of the information is being captured by daily workflows. Then directly connected for updating the communication path of choice.

Some interactive tools can be used to simplify life for the organization staff. All of these being based on the tools available in a GIS structure.

Example of the automated reciept email sent when an 811 locate request is made.

The postive response automatically generated using a webhook. It pulls and populates the data submitted by the requestor. So no errors by input while in the field.

Staff create the advisory area in a different web application. That one allows the tracing of parcel data for exact dilineation. It includes a select tool to download a file of the affected customers and their contact information. This is then leveraged in an automated call system for notifications.

So - how does it happen? What is involved with getting those coffee stained, wrinkled plans stored behind the seat in the work truck to something that will last into the future? What about the knowledge the 33 year employee is retiring with that hasn't even been put down on paper - much less captured in a map (paper or electronic)? The good news is - it's not that far of a leap.

In the early 2000's, OCWD began scanning all the water plans from previous years. Using a map tool called georeferencing, they were aligned to known points and the water data was 'traced' in. This provided the basis for future updates using field collection techniques.

Currently, all new installations are collected by OCWD staff using the tablet and Eos Arrow Gold GNSS receivers. Each bell, fitting, hydrant, and valve are added to a field communications layer with a centimeter or less horizontal accuracy on average. Additionally, collection happens any time existing infrastructure is uncovered. This enables corrections of the scanned data for accurate uses into the future.

The adage that a picture is worth a thousand words has huge implications for water utilities. The majority of system components lie underground and unseen. Using the mapping tools and workflows currently available can quickly provide information and location when needed the most.

• Management insight to day-to-day operations through dashboards
• Community enagement without doing extra work
• Creates a visual for staff to see and draw pride from their work