Geographic Information System Development and its Application
at the
- Woodruff Roebuck Water
District -
Spartanburg County, South
Carolina
Paul Hammer, B.P. Barber and
Associates, Inc.
Keith
Overstreet, P.E. B.P. Barber and
Associates, Inc.
Curt
Dillard, P.E. Woodruff Roebuck Water District
Woodruff Roebuck Water
District provides service to 8,700 customers in rural areas of southwestern
Spartanburg County and includes 350-miles of waterline. Woodruff Roebuck is a
Special Purpose District in South Carolina receiving funds from customer user
fees and property tax revenue. User fees cover operation cost while tax revenue
goes towards debt.
Like most water service providers, the Woodruff-Roebuck District
uses mapping to identify its various sources of water distribution. Today, the
District maintains its detailed mapping in a Geographic Information System
(GIS). This is a valuable investment for the District because it provides
employees with advanced information resources to efficiently serve its customers.
Adoption of the GIS required the District to recognize the potential advantages
of an electronic mapping format and a willingness to commit valuable time and
money.
The need for a new mapping
format was first recognized in 1997. At the time, the District had only one set
of paper maps describing the locations of hydrants, underground water lines and
valves. Often referred 
to as the Dead Sea Scrolls,
these valuable documents were deteriorating after years of heavy use. District
Manager Curt Dillard, P.E. recognized this deficiency and began examining
several options to improve the system mapping. Preserving the old map, and
information was a primary objective and led to the District’s decision to
invest in building a GIS. Flexible functions and swift data retrieval were key
advantages offered by a GIS.
To construct the District’s system, a GIS consultant was hired to transfer the old mapping information into usable data. The consultant had to design a database that would host the water system data. ESRI’s Arc/Info was selected to format files because of its superior options and flexibility. The ERSI ArcView software offered multiple functions and a company commitment to further develop the software.
The selection of a mapping
base was necessary to serve as a graphical background map for the system data.
Tax-mapping information was obtained from Spartanburg County and converted from
Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) format into coverage data format.
Conversion required several AML’s (Arc Macro Language) to be written. The
result was a base map referenced to South Carolina’s State Plane Coordinate
Survey System. Spartanburg County property ownership data was then joined to
the converted tax parcels. Additional information was obtained from the County
to include information such as streets; hydrology; topographic information; and
other various planimetric and political based geographic information. The
result was a comprehensive GIS tax parcel-mapping base fully converted to the
Arc/Info coverage format.
The County’s tax-mapping
information resulted in a large database of customer information. One of the
advantages of a GIS is the ability to conduct inquiries into a large database
of information about the mapped area. The County’s tax property data allows the
District to find information such as name, address, property acreage and
location. Customer account information is included describing payment history
and monthly / annual water consumption. The District can add to the inquiry
database to provide information such as major commercial and residential
accounts.
Following the creation of a
tax parcel-mapping base, the District’s hand drawn water line maps were
digitized. Water system lines were coded with size, material and type
attributes. Hydrants, valves, pump stations, tanks and other system
appurtenances were input as nodes and given attribute coding to further define
these features. This resulted in a
representative model of the District’s water system based on geographic data
overlaid on a base map. The only limitation to the GIS during this development
stage was the accuracy of the District’s original maps.
The District’s customer
service staff found the new inquiry options extremely useful for answering
customer questions. However, the customer service area did not have a computer
with the ability to access the GIS. The system was located on two networked
computers within easy access to the District’s engineering and technical
personnel. This arrangement was not convenient for the service staff to use
when waiting on a customer in the front office. A third computer was added to
the service area with predefined inquires designed to meet the needs of the
customer service staff.
The District realized that
once a GIS was built, the integrity and maintenance of the data became a very
important task. Editing GIS data is a
technical effort, requiring both specialized mapping and computer skills. The
daily maintenance of the GIS data and software was contracted to a qualified
consultant during the early stages of the District’s GIS development. This
important decision enabled the District to focus on using the GIS without
compromising the integrity of the data. Trained GIS professionals update and
revise the data leaving the District’s staff free from the tedious task of
editing the system. The decision to contract GIS maintenance has proven to be a
cost effective decision for the District. As a result, the GIS data is current
and quickly edited while not compromising the District’s staff.
The District’s GIS/Mapping
Project successfully preserved the old mapping and records information. The
project resulted in a number of desirable by-products. The District now has an
inventory available listing the number of different water system nodes of
hydrants, valves, etc. Water lines are categorized by size, material and
location. In addition, district personnel are provided with large 30-inch x
40-inch maps with a 1:400 scale of the entire District.
The GIS project motivated
the District to begin generating maps for the 6 fire districts providing Fire
and EMS services within the limits of the water service area. These maps are
tailored to these public safety agencies’ specialized services. Important items
include hydrant coverage and road access to property.
The 883 hydrants maintained
by the District are of key importance to public safety. When the Water District
began its GIS development, the District Manager requested an evaluation of
hydraulic modeling software for the ArcView operating environment. Hydraulic
modeling software was new and fairly untested during system development. Using
MWHSoft’s H20MAP water modeling program, a hydraulic model was developed to
meet the District Manager’s request. As testimony to the system’s great
adaptability, the District’s GIS successfully adopted the new hydraulic
software.
Modern hydraulic
computational models have matured to accept common data in the most popular formats.
A number of companies have developed their software to provide full GIS
capabilities, in addition to performing hydraulic computations. MWHSoft,
Haestad Methods and other software developers have prepared their software to
include powerful GIS functions expanding the functionally of their popular
hydraulic computation engines.
Mapping and modeling
software has greatly improved since the beginning of Woodruff Roebuck’s GIS
project. Computer solutions that are currently offered provide multiple options
for utility agencies that need to test their water system capabilities.
Software technology permits water system managers to assemble a complete and
customized GIS without integrating separate hydraulic computation software.
Water suppliers, like the Woodruff-Roebuck Water District, may now look toward
these modern software solutions to meet all their GIS needs.
Spartanburg County and other
areas in the Southeast are experiencing a significant increase in population.
With this growth comes the responsibility to supply a growing population of
residents and industries with water. To address future water supplies, the
Woodruff Roebuck Water District is using the GIS to help site a potential new
reservoir within its service limits.
When the District’s GIS was
originally built, old tax and engineering documents were digitized to create
geographic data. This method was acceptable at that time but produced
questionable results. Since then, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology
has become an affordable and practical geographic tool. Today, the District
uses GPS to increase accuracy by verifying documented locations and adding
newly constructed parts of the system. In the near future, GPS will assist the
District in a new project to locate each customer’s water meter and document
its location using new Trimble GeoXT hand held units.
The District’s GIS has been
able to produce small maps for their service trucks and larger maps for office
display. Some of these colorful maps are exhibited at local schools and
colleges where teacher use them as teaching aids. GIS data assists engineering
firms that are performing design work for the District and state environmental
agencies working on regulatory issues. The District must maintain a full
mapping system to continue its status as a Delegated Review Authority for the
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC). As
such, the District is able to approve service facility expansion and
improvement projects in their area on a self-review basis.
Curt Dillard summarized the
value of the District’s investment of time and money to the GIS project. “Our GIS system has become a vital tool in
meeting the needs of our growing customer base,” confirmed Dillard. “We have
become just as dependent on our GIS system as we are on fax machines and cell
phones.”
Geographic Information System Technology at the District today, and in the near future:
From its conception,
strategic planning has played an important role in building the District’s GIS.
The benefits of thoughtful planning are evident as the District adapts the
system to incorporate new technology, software, and data formats. Additional
GIS Applications for customer service, data maintenance, easy adaptation to
complex water models, and data sharing between other local and state agencies
have been added to the system for even greater efficiency.
The original data formats of coverage and shapefile have evolved into the new Geodatabase. This Geodatabase is completed and ready for use by the District. This adaptable data format provides many new and powerful capabilities. Data updating and maintenance of important water system hydrants, and valves is complimented by Global Positioning Systems (GPS) location. The District has recently begun to use Trimbles GeoXT with ArcPad to locate new water system features, environmentally sensitive areas, and for various other purposes that will enhance overall maintenance of the District’s GIS.
GPS techniques are currently being used to locate all of the District’s water meters. When completed, this updated information will provide accurate geographic locations for each meter, which is directly tied to each customers account. Improved and expanded capabilities for customer service, water consumption analysis, and more reliable information for future water modeling will be the result.
Due to increased growth in and around the District, advanced hydraulic models are also being utilized. Hydraulic modeling is becoming a standard function in successful growth management of the water system, and future acquisition of other adjoining systems. As previously stated, the Geodatabase will provide many valuable functions and increased capabilities.
SUMMARY
Rural service agencies must
embrace modern technology if they are going to meet the demands of increased
population and commercial development. Woodruff Roebuck Water District located
in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, is a service agency that understood the
necessity to modernize its old records. Dog-eared paper mapping was transformed
into a modern Geographic Information System. The District’s initiative resulted
in a modern new tool that swiftly provides practical solutions and reliable
answers. District personnel have welcomed the new GIS technology into their
daily use. As a result, customers are and will continue to receive the service
they deserve.
For further information
please contact:
Mr. Paul Hammer, B.P. Barber
and Associates, Inc.
9601 Warren Abernathy
Highway
Spartanburg, SC 29301
or
Mr. Curtis Dillard, P.E.
Woodruff Roebuck Water
District
9801 Highway 221
Woodruff, SC 29388
864-476-3188