AWWA DSS58687

This paper reviews lessons learned from successful geographic information system (GIS) projects, as applied to water distribution systems. These projects contribute to effective hydraulic modeling and capital improvement project (CIP) development. Projects completed in 2000 and 2001 for two large water utilities in the United States, each serving over 200,000 people, are used to answer important strategy questions. CH2M HILL and two Georgia water utilities of similar sizes, Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) and Augusta Utilities Department (AUD), worked together to take advantage of GIS applications, field work, and hydraulic modeling to plan system improvements. Both utilities executed large-scale GIS projects to develop the installed system inventory for all pipes, valves, and hydrants. Hydraulic model development depended on the GIS project deliverables. In the late 1990s, both utilities recognized the importance of GIS, but they also recognized that failed GIS projects within water utilities were common. These utilities worked with CH2M HILL to identify some of the recurring problems with these GIS projects, and subsequently decided upon an approach, described in this paper, that appears to have worked, where others have failed. One utility has a 10,000-pipe model and the other has a 3,700-pipe model, yet the populations they serve are approximately the same, and the models were appropriately sized. This paper explains why the model sizes were so different, although both models were sufficient and necessary. CIP savings exceeded $2 million for each utility. This paper provides key points to help water utility managers better ensure the long-term success of their GIS applications, their hydraulic model calibrations, and the use of the hydraulic model to determine accurate, successful capital improvements. Includes tables, figures, appendices.