Abstract
A Water Utilities GIS on the La Jolla Indian Reservation
Track: Tribal/Indigenous GIS programs
Author(s): Tia Morita, Rob Roy
Water is an essential element of life, and as an essential government service, Native American Tribes must ensure the delivery of clean drinking water on their reservations. However, limited resources can challenge management and delivery of this most basic service. In an effort to improve water utilities management, the La Jolla Band of Luiseņo Indians initiated a GIS project to map and analyze their domestic water system. The creation of a geometric data model required the integration of incompatible data sources (paper, CAD, digital, mental) into a comprehensive geodatabase using ArcGIS. Network analysis identified system weaknesses and helped to focus resources for future water projects; thus, resulting in more directed repairs and maintenance, and improved service delivery to residents. This project speaks to the utility of GIS to further the ability of tribes to function as full-service governments and provides a potential framework for replication across other reservations in California.
Tia Morita
Univ. of Redlands, Masters of Science in GIS Program
824 Campus Avenue
Redlands , California 92374
United States
Phone: 818-383-9303
E-mail: Tia_Morita@spatial.redlands.edu
Rob Roy
La Jolla Band of Luiseņo Indians
22000 Highway 76
Pauma Valley , California 92061-9721
United States
Phone: (760) 742-3790
E-mail: lajollagis@yahoo.com