Water Engineer turned GIS/Business Analyst

[sallenhs]

Hi everyone,

My name is Sean Allen and I’m a licensed professional engineer working in the water resources industry. This post explores my GIS journey, things I’ve learned, and what I’m looking forward to with the future of GIS. I have 5 years of experience, primarily in the application of data analytics and data engineering although my educational background is in stormwater modeling.

As I began my career, I was able to get involved in projects throughout the water resources industry, including wastewater asset management and citywide master planning for water demand. Most of these projects had a "hint" of GIS but the more I worked in it, the more I began to feel it was going to become the main character of my career. Before long, I realized how deeply I enjoy the time I get to spend solving a new problem with Python or finding ways to maximize the capabilities of Esri technologies such as ArcGIS Dashboards and ArcGIS Experience Builder.

Most recently, I’ve been involved in a nationwide effort to identify and replace lead and certain galvanized iron pipes to eliminate the health impacts of lead in our communities. The latest version of this regulation is the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions which went into effect on October 16th, 2024. In the years prior, my colleagues and I worked with utilities across the country to prepare inventories of their service line materials most often involving geoprocessing and tabular methods. 

Esri's Lead Service Line Solution provided a springboard for these projects with a bundle of out-of-the-box web applications for managing the identification, replacement, and community outreach. Through these projects, I've been able to greatly increase my skill set in developing databases and applications in ArcGIS Online and tying it all together for involved stakeholders such as field workers, project managers, analysts, and the public. 

This year, I had the pleasure of presenting the applications I developed for Baltimore City & County at Towson University's TUGIS conference in Maryland.

Entering 2025, I'm excited to continue my work on Lead and Copper projects as we gear up to identify remaining unknown pipes, replace those in need, and meet future regulation requirements going into effect in 2027. Additionally, I'm seeing a greater need to automate and integrate web-GIS with other software and across organizations and I'm hoping to master these techniques and pave new ways to efficiently deliver projects.

I'm happy to be in Esri's Young Professional Network and if anyone is interested in connecting, here is my LinkedIn profile.

[RosemaryBoone]

Hi Sean - nice to meet you! I'm Rosemary Boone, Sr. Industry Marketing Manager at Esri and Esri YPN Advisory Board Member, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your GIS journey and how you use GIS in water solutions! Very interesting. What was your presentation about at TUGIS? 

Also, I recommend submitting your story to be a "Face of YPN" here. 

[sallenhs]

Hi Rosemary, 

Nice to meet you too and happy to be here. I presented twice at TUGIS, first on using python toolboxes to automate some annual geoprocessing tasks that were being done to inventory buildable land in Carroll County, MD. The other was on the web applications and processes I've developed for Baltimore City and County who are working together on the Lead and Copper program.

Noted on the Face of YPN, I'll submit to that as well shortly

[ERessler]

Great post, Sean! It's inspiring to see how your GIS journey has evolved and how you're using your skills to make such a tangible impact on public health through your LCRR work. Excited to see what you achieve in 2025!

[Sksonu35555]

Great post, Sean! Your journey from stormwater modelling to becoming a GIS expert is inspiring.

[Chalhoub]

Great work, Sean! Inspiring to see GIS making a real impact in public health.

[MeganWoodall]

Hi Sean. Thanks for sharing! You're doing great work with lead and copper pipe replacement projects. Maintaining our nation's water infrastructure is critical. My academic background is in environmental engineering with a concentration in water pollution control but I'm working more on roadways at the moment. I'm involved in the Water Environment Federation and the California Water Environment Association, so if you'd ever like to hop on a monthly Zoom call for a subcommittee (students and young professionals, student design competition, etc.), let me know! It appears the LinkedIn hyperlink in your post is broken, but I'd love to connect on LinkedIn. Have a great day!