topic Re: Water Main and Lateral generation without as builts in Water Utilities Questions

Water Main and Lateral generation without as builts

SanManuel — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:35:11 GMT

I am the GIS Coordinator for a small Reservation and I have been collecting Water utilities (above ground) via GPS for about one year. There are no as-builts for existing infrastrucure that is in ground. I need a reccomendation for generating the mains and laterals that would be better than just connecting all points about ground to give me a general idea of the line location.

Re: Water Main and Lateral generation without as builts

MikeMillerGIS — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:58:20 GMT

You will need to generate the main lines off some point of reference. If you can locate the valves, then draw the mains from valve to valve following the road ways, other than that, I am not really sure. Once you have the mains, there are automated tools to connect meters and hydrants to the mains through laterals.

Re: Water Main and Lateral generation without as builts

JoshuaDamron — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:06:30 GMT

One would assume you have at least a schematic system map, with that you should be able to do as Micheal suggested and develope a basic system.

Interviewing those who have worked on the system is a good next step also looking into technology that is able to locate the utility via tracing or listening. Depending on the data you are looking to collect you may choose some locations to pothole and physiclaly dig down to verify the pipe location & information.

Re: Water Main and Lateral generation without as builts

SanManuel — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:03:17 GMT

Thank you for your replies. I wanted to share the solution that I used. Every year, we employ a sewer cleaning company to maintain our wastewater assets. In this process, the company sends a HD camera though the flow line to visually inspect the system. We found that this would be a perfect time to deploy a new sonde that another department had purchased. Once the sonde was attached to the camera and sent through the line, we were able to track it above ground and spray paint small dots to mark the line location. In the end, all sewer access points and sonde points were used to compile a fairly accurate representation of the sewer main. I am now able to use the visual inspection video to map laterals off of the main, track problem areas, and generate profiles.

Re: Water Main and Lateral generation without as builts

SanManuel — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:10:38 GMT

Two images are enclosed. One is a Basic version and it uses sewer access points to digitize a straight line path from access point to access point. The Advanced version utilizes sonde points that were GPS'ed and then used to feather the sewer mains into place.