Abstract

Developing a Service Areas Boundary Layer for California's Drinking Water
Track: Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater
Authors: Karen Beardsley

In cooperation with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Information Center for the Environment at the University of California, Davis has been working since 2011 on mapping the service area boundaries of public water systems (PWS) in California. Our first step was to identify and integrate existing spatial data layers delineating drinking water service area boundaries, and much of this was accomplished through internet searches. Of the over 8000 water systems in California, only about 1000 were identified in this manner, leaving more than 7000 water systems to be mapped. CDPH's Environmental Health Investigations Branch (EHIB)has developed an on-line Water Boundary Tool to facilitate the creation, collection, and vetting of digital maps for public water systems in California. Together with our efforts to collect these boundaries and EHIB's tool, we are working toward a sustainable method for collecting and distributing service area boundaries for California's drinking water.