GIS Technology for Water,

Wastewater, and Storm Water Utilities

GIS Technology for Water, Wastewater,
and Storm Water Utilities

Your utility keeps track of vast amounts of information about assets; What Is GIS?
distribution, collection, and drainage networks; customers; and financial
GIS technology combines mapping software with
records. All this information has a connection with location, whether it be
database management tools to collect, organize, and
the site of a water main or a customer’s meter. ESRI® geographic information
share many types of information. Data is stored as
system (GIS) technology uses these geographic connections to integrate
thematic layers in geodatabases (data identified by its
key database systems, streamline asset data management tasks, and help
location coordinates) that can be accessed and shared
you visualize important geospatial relationships. Using GIS helps you more
from the field, within a department, and across
effectively manage water distribution, sewer collection, and storm water
an entire enterprise. You decide which layers are
drainage networks as well as related planning and customer care. You
relevant. Utilities typically combine utility layers with
can think of a GIS as a “location-based operating picture” that unifies the
land base, parcel, street, land-use, and administrative
databases essential to your activities.
area layers.
Significantly more powerful and flexible than a computer-aided design (CAD)
system, a GIS stores both attributes and images of pipes, valves, meters,
manholes, and so forth, as objects with location coordinates. The maps you
create link upstream and downstream objects through strong object-to-
Distribution system
object network connectivity and indicate normal flow direction through the
pipe network. GIS is a true model of the network and can be used to Collection system

• Track and report on assets in the network inventory. Population density

• Generate inputs into hydraulic modeling software. Jurisdiction boundaries
• Create a common operational picture for access to network operations
Urban development
information.
In creating a single database of assets, you can eliminate redundant Land features
data collection and maintenance activities. The shared database enables Hydrographic data
engineering to produce maps, finance to calculate asset valuations,
maintenance to track work activities, and operations to create network
models.

GIS technology also uses geographic relationships to link and merge

disparate databases. For example, you can place a demographic layer
projecting future population values on top of an existing sewer manhole
layer and use it to estimate future loadings at specific nodes on the network.
You can overlay water well data on hazardous material information to
determine proximity and assess contamination risks.

CAD Graphics to Geographics

Make maps that are more than just
pretty pictures—add spatial intelligence
to maps created as CAD files. ArcGIS®
can use CAD data without conversion
so that land records kept in CAD can be
Move, rotate, and fully integrated with ArcGIS.
scale CAD layers in
ArcGIS.
Enterprise GIS Integrates Utilities Operations

Build a Foundation to Support All Your Departments

An ESRI enterprise GIS is an integrated, multidepartmental system composed of
interoperable components. It provides broad access to geospatial data, a common
infrastructure upon which to build and deploy GIS applications, and significant
economies of scale. ESRI enterprise GIS customers report benefits that allow them to

• Reduce data redundancy.

• Improve accuracy and integrity of geographic information.
• Share data efficiently and quickly.
• Integrate GIS and non-GIS applications.

www.esri.com/water
Use GIS to Improve Asset Management Control

Enable operations crews to

bring GIS into the field.

Water/Wastewater professionals monitor vast amounts of (redline) work order requests and put information directly into
information about an ever-changing inventory of physical assets. the database from the field. These tools improve efficiency in
You are responsible for handling day-to-day demands as well as meeting industry financial reporting requirements that include
ensuring the future viability of the network. asset valuation, proper inspections, and preventive maintenance.

Planning Benefits
As a decision maker, you need the ability to weigh multiple An EAM application can help you achieve significant savings by
scenarios that balance levels of investment against asset life standardizing
span. GIS technology provides the analytical tools to perform
• Purchasing processes
what-if analyses and dynamic segmentation.
• Maintenance procedures

Performance and Tracking • Equipment tracking

Enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions help utilities • Inventory stores

improve asset performance and tracking. The asset management EAM also helps you manage the full life cycle of critical assets
component of ESRI GIS software gives you user-friendly access to including
tracking, locating, and managing assets. It also creates a
• Procurement
consolidated view of operations and increases information
availability across the organization. • Installation
• Service
Good asset management means performing the proper
maintenance and service at the correct location. This produces • Repair
better customer service as well as savings for tight budgets. • Disposal
GIS-enabled Web-based tools allow your field crews to annotate
Integrate GIS and Hydraulic Modeling Tools

An integrated map displays multiple types of data including land parcel

identification, water delivery and collection systems, satellite images, and
geolocated photographs of fire hydrants.

Integrated GIS and hydraulic modeling packages provide

sophisticated network modeling tools that work within a
commonly shared GIS data repository, which reduces the labor
costs of maintaining separate GIS and modeling databases.

With a single integrated database, you can quickly perform

modeling scenarios such as Advanced text and label placement tools are used to convey pertinent
information.
• Demand projections
• Fire flow assessments
• Water quality simulations ESRI supports you with predesigned data models for
• Pump scheduling groundwater, sewer, storm, and water utilities available online
at www.esri.com/water-datamodels. User-contributed
• Surge protection
ArcScripts for utilities, such as manhole ID generators and
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• Emergency planning custom valve isolation code, are also available for download at
• Unidirectional Flushing the link.

www.esri.com/water
Access and Update Data in the Field
A mobile computer displays watershed features. Engineers and surveyors
can verify information on-site and add data with precise locations.
A hand-held device displays a street map with utility features. Field
inspectors, repair crews, and meter readers use the system to navigate
and can create most-efficient routing diagrams according to the day’s
work orders.
Benefits
Mobile access to current data helps you
• Improve workforce operations.
• Increase productivity.
• Improve customer service.
• Reduce costs.
Utilities have always struggled with the use of maps and the
needs of a mobile workforce. Your mobile crews need current
information at their fingertips when performing daily tasks. They
are key to keeping services running at peak efficiencies. You
want to know where those workers are, what projects they are
working on, and how projects in the pipeline rank in priority.
ESRI server and mobile access tools provide field crews with
accurate, up-to-date maps through mobile GIS computing. These
location-based applications provide them with map display and
navigation, GPS support, and GIS editing. Mobile GIS application
development tools allow you to edit versioned databases stored
on a server, which makes it easy to update your database and
keep its history. These tools can extend to support sophisticated
field applications, like valve isolation tracing, or enhance
existing nonspatial line-of-business applications with geospatial
capabilities such as customer relationship management and field
service automation systems. Your field crews will have access to
the most up-to-date information and can save time and reduce
errors by inputting new information directly into digital forms.
Visualization Adds Operations and Maintenance Insight

Visualize your network in three dimensions with a 3D display of buildings and

the underground water network.

In day-to-day operations, you can use GIS to closely model utility

networks and easily integrate other related types of data such as
raster images (e.g., aerial photographs) and CAD drawings. GIS
spatial selection and display tools allow users to visualize both
the location and all data on scheduled work, ongoing activities,
Analyze your network to quickly determine which valves to close
recurring maintenance problems, and historical information. when a main breaks.
The topological properties of a GIS database can support network
tracing. You can use it to analyze how stoppages, main breaks,
drainage defects, and so forth, may impact specific properties or Upstream and Downstream Network Tracing
services. GIS supports many other operations and maintenance During a water main break, you need to quickly determine the
tasks including work order and warehouse inventory management minimum number of valves to shut off to isolate the break.
and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). Likewise, you may need the ability to trace sewer networks, both
upstream and downstream from a problem area, in case there is
GIS and SCADA a break or blockage that results in an overflow.

A utility’s SCADA system can be synchronized with GIS to show a
geographic view of water management structures and distribution
systems. This allows you to monitor all transactions throughout
the system and perform analysis and control procedures. For
example, you can use the real-time SCADA system to determine
whether or not a leak is critical and requires immediate attention.
Looking at a map of water system valves, either of these tasks
may seem simple. However, some valves inevitably turn out to be
inoperable, which results in a scramble to find alternate valves
in the maze of the water utility network. Specialized GIS tracing
and isolation tools provide an efficient way to find the operable
valves and isolate the main break.

www.esri.com/water
Provide Up-to-Date, Accurate Information to Finance,
Administration, and Customer Care Departments

Provide customer care

representatives with up-to-date
client information to improve
accuracy and efficiency in
customer service responses.

Your finance and administration personnel provide

the central administrative oversight to support your
organization’s planning and operational activities.
You can enhance budget forecasting, facility
inventory analysis, customer billing, customer care,
and other key administrative functions through the
implementation of an integrated enterprise GIS
solution.

Improve accuracy and efficiency when using GIS for

tasks such as

• Rate justification

Administrators and engineers create management and planning analyses using • Capital improvement project planning
integrated financial and facility data. • Customer care
• Complaint tracking
• Real property management
• Redistricting
Sharpen Planning and Engineering Analyses

Model your groundwater system with integrated data that includes

topography, roads, municipality boundaries, and water well and volatile
organic compound information.

ESRI’s GIS software allows you to represent a project in three-

dimensional form and visualize the impact of facilities on the
landscape during the design process. Data can be combined Visualize the entire watershed picture with 3D modeling.
with other computer-aided engineering functions to assist in the
planning and scenario testing of multiple designs.
• Water quality monitoring
Water agencies use ESRI’s GIS software to map the full extent
• Hazardous materials tracking and underground tank
of their water distribution systems and link them to a database,
management
defining each element including reservoirs, pipe segments,
services, and system appurtenances. As a result, job planning, • Well log and data management
equipment inventory, and flow analysis become automated • Site analysis
procedures integrated into one intelligent database. • Geobibliography (past studies)
Planning and engineering tasks that you can accomplish easily • Development review and approval
using ESRI’s GIS software include • Right-of-way engineering
• Watershed and groundwater management modeling • Automated mapping
• Water distribution system master planning • Capital improvement project tracking
• Population and demand projections • Underground service alert

www.esri.com/water
ArcGIS

As a complete geographic information system, ESRI ArcGIS

allows you to easily author data, maps, globes, and models on
the desktop; serve them to a GIS server; and use them through Desktop GIS
ArcGIS Desktop
Web, desktop, and mobile clients. The ArcGIS family of products
ArcGIS Engine Server GIS
includes Desktop GIS, Server GIS, Mobile GIS, and Online GIS. ArcGIS Explorer ArcGIS Server
ArcGIS Image Server
As a developer, you can access the capabilities of ArcGIS through
the ESRI Developer Network (EDN ), an annual subscription-
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based program that provides you with the resources you need to
build a wide range of custom GIS solutions.

Desktop GIS
Mobile GIS
ArcGIS Mobile
ArcPad
®
ArcGIS
Desktop GIS allows you to see your data on a map and analyze
it to reveal patterns, relationships, and trends that are not readily Online GIS
apparent in tabular data, improving your decision making. ArcGIS Online
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ArcWeb Services
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Desktop GIS lets you create and edit data and includes ready-
to-use tools that let you build process models, scripts, and
ESRI Data
complete workflows to help you better test predictions, examine
Community Data
TM

relationships in your data, and answer questions such as StreetMap

TM

ESRI Data & Maps

• Where are my customers and where should I put new
facilities?
• Who does an emergency impact?
• How will a power outage affect my operations?
• What is the impact of new urban development?
Server GIS
Server GIS lets you share and maintain the data that you
create with Desktop GIS with a large number of users across
the enterprise using focused, easy-to-use applications. Server
GIS enables you to push your maps, models, and tools out to
engineers, schedulers, and planners in a way that fits into their
workflows. Staff in customer care and out in the field can query
accurate, up-to-date data, increasing their productivity.

Compile, author, analyze, map, and publish geographic information

and knowledge.

Centrally host GIS applications and data, delivering GIS capabilities

to large numbers of users.

Mobile GIS
Mobile GIS is the expansion of
a GIS from the office into the
field. Wireless connectivity,
geoservices, and Web mapping
applications allow your inspectors
and repair personnel to complete
database transactions in near
real time. Whether connected or
disconnected from the database,
this increases efficiency and
provides users who may have little
or no GIS experience with access
to previously unavailable data.
Online GIS
Online GIS provides ready-to-use content for your GIS. You can
access 2D maps, 3D globes, and tasks via the Web to quick start
your GIS projects. Online GIS also provides developers with a
comprehensive Web platform for integrating GIS content and
capabilities into desktop, server, mobile, or Web applications.
High-resolution street data from ArcGIS Online is available for the
United States, Canada, and Europe.
Learn more about ArcGIS at www.esri.com/arcgis.
The Complete Geographic Information System
ESRI Data
In addition to data provided as a Web service via ArcGIS Online,
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ESRI offers a full spectrum of ready-to-use geospatial data
products delivered as packaged media.
ESRI Data & Maps is a set of map data included at no additional
cost with ArcGIS software. StreetMap™ consists of enhanced
street datasets from Tele Atlas or NAVTEQ®. Community™ data
encompasses a variety of datasets including demographic data,
consumer spending, segmentation, and business data.
ArcGIS Schematics
Targeted applications help you address specific needs. For
example, the ArcGIS Schematics extension tools help you
automatically generate, visualize, and manipulate schemas
from network data stored in a geodatabase. You can
map your linear utility network, then drill down into it to
manage network database information.
Obtain logical views and create easy-to-read multilevel
representations (geographic, geoschematic, and
schematic) of any linear network. Specific applications
enhanced by ArcGIS Schematics include
• Customer information
• Forecast and planning
• Operations management
• GIS/FM SCADA
• Outage and trouble management
• Design and analysis
ArcGIS Schematics displays pipes and equipment networks
in a simplified hierarchical view.
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