Great Data is Meaningless if you Can’t Access It

In 2013, a water main broke in the middle of winter. The water authority rushed into action. First step was to shut off the water at the valve to stop the water from endlessly shooting out the broken main. They got their map and headed out to the location indicated on the map. As it turned out, the location of the main was in the middle of a park. So, while normally a to-scale map offers landmarks and points of reference to quickly pin point the exact location- in this instance, that wasn’t quite the case. To make matters worse, everywhere the eye could see was covered with a foot of white snow. The only option was to guess and check. Despite their map, despite their data, it took that water authority 8 hours to locate and turn off the water valve.

Following that event, the authority decided they can never allow that situation to happen again. So, they set out to gather every critical water system asset – such as shut-off valves – and store it in one GIS map. Available through mobile applications, the online GIS data is accessible in the field. They can better assert and effectively confirm their location, allowing for quicker decision making and better problem solving.

Since 2013, SSM and other partners have worked with the water authority to collect every single water asset point in the authority’s geographic reach and input it into an interactive, up-to-date GIS mapping system. Now, when the water valve needs to be shut off at any location, in any weather conditions, the field team will take their smart devices and pinpoint their exact location alongside the exact precise location of the valve. Less time, less damage, more effective.