Abstract

Supporting Non-GIS Users with a Sophisticated GIS Field Collection Application
Track: Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater
Authors: Keith Appler, Patrick McLoughlin

As part of the EPA's NPDES permitting requirements, Fairfax County, Virginia's Maintenance and Stormwater Management Division (MSMD) is required to inspect each asset of the stormwater system. Historically, MSMD would provide field inspectors with large paper tax maps containing stormwater GIS data, planimetrics, and general base map information. As the field inspectors visited the stormwater infrastructure they marked up the maps by hand, adding and modifying infrastructure, photo-verifying assets, and providing details via notes. The department's GIS staff would then update the stormwater data to reflect these changes and/or notes, and link the asset photo. The Department wanted to move away from its reliance on paper maps preferring to have the GIS data updated in the field during inspection. MSMD worked with Spatial Systems to develop a stormwater data collection application that allows the non-GIS user (field locator) to update the data and complete the permitting process in the field.