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Instructions for Geospatial Mapping Project

Geospatial Research and Applications Center (GRAC)EDA Funded Project (Grant# G004824)

6/16/2011

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Background: Problem Statement

Hurricane storm surge and wash of sand and debris inland frustrates clean-up effort

Heavy Equipment damages fixtures covered by debris and sand

50% or more of the damage inflicted on critical utilities during the clean-up effort

$17 million of damage in 2008 hurricane season

Preventing damage to fixtures means city will be able to allow residents and tourists to return sooner and businesses to restart

Current Condition

• Each utility company has print or electronic maps in different formats

• Little coordination during clean-up to protect utility infrastructure

• Limited information sharing system in place to deliver plans to clean-up personnel

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Project Goal• Effectively collect, store, and retrieve

infrastructure data from multiple partners in the Alabama coastal community

• Decrease the damage done to the infrastructure during cleanup activities after a hurricane

• Help the community to recover quickly after a natural disaster

• Help maintain the overall stability and sustainability of a community

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Partners

• City of Gulf Shores• City of Orange Beach• City of Bayou La Batre • Town of Dauphin Island• Riviera Utilities• Clarke Mobile Gas• CenturyLink

• Orange Beach Water Authority

• Bayou La Batre Water Authority

• AL Dept. of Homeland Security

• AL Dept. of Emergency Management

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Project Importance

• Infrastructure & many public services are geographically oriented– Daily Operations – street & utility maintenance – Strategic Planning – zoning, economic development

• Disasters– Preparation – evacuation, locating resources– Disaster Response – deploying resources– Disaster Recovery – inspection, return of people

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GIS / GPS- Based Solution• GIS- Geographic Information System

• ArcGIS- A GIS system developed by the Environment Systems Research Institute (ESRI)

• Widely used system for surveying and referencing various locations and structures

• GIS integrates information from satellite imagery, aerial photography, and latitude/longitude coordinates

• We use GPS (global positioning system) units to link actual landmarks to coordinates

• Computer program overlays coordinates with satellite and aerial images

• Produces easy to understand map of various utility fixtures

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What is GIS and GPS?

• Geographic Positioning System• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFfOTfS-ZMU&f

eature=related

• Geographic Information Systems• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi0m_lwCYkA&

feature=related

• Geospatial Technology• http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/

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Activities done to date…….

• Data Collection• Locations: Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores,

Orange Beach, Ft. Morgan, Bayou La Batre• Data Recovery

• Locations: Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Auburn University

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Past Data Collection

– ~60 students have been involved in data collection

– Were led by two student team leaders – Mapping conducted in Gulf Shores, Dauphin

Island, Orange Beach, Fort Morgan– Data collection conducted during Spring and

Summer 2010

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Date Data Points Collected

Walking Miles

March 5–7 1950 10.5

March 26-28 1692 9

April 10-11 1914 11.02

April 16-18 1355 9.85

April 23-25 412 13.4

June 4-6 1041 11.06

June 12-13 1100 10

Total 11,661 88

Data Collection• Feb 19-21, 2010

– Two teams of 4 students collected data in GS– Data Points Collected: 605 – Walking Miles Covered: 4

• Feb. 26-28, 2010– Three teams of 4 students collected data in GS– Data Points Collected:1592 – Walking Miles Covered: 9.16

• Similarly

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GULF

SHORES

ORANGE

BEACH

FORT

MORGAN

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Data Collected So farData Points Collected:12,000+ Walking Miles : 90+ Total Manhours:550+

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Example of Collected DataLegend

!( Cable Pedestal

") Cable Box / Fiber Optic Box

XW Fiber Cable Misc

#* Cable / Fiber Test Box

GF Communications Manhole

!( Electric Power Pole

!. Electric Power Pole w/ Light

!5 Electric Light Pole

#* Electric Meter

") Electric Transformer

XW Electric Misc

#* Gas Valve

") Gas Meter

$+ Gas High Pressure Assembly

GF Gas Regulator

!( Sewer Manhole

") Sewer Pumping / Lift Station

GF Sewer Lateral

XW Sewer Misc

") Storm Water Grate Inlet

#* Storm Water Curb Inlet

!( Storm Water Yard Inlet

XW Storm Water Misc

") Phone Switching Station / Cabinet

!( Phone Pedestal

XW Phone Misc

GF Fire Hydrant

") Water Meter

#* Water Shutoff Valve

!( Backflow Preventer

GF Fire Department Connection

XW Water Misc

Streets and Parcels

Parcels

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Past Data Recovery Exercises

– ~30 students have been involved in data recovery exercises

– Data recovery exercises were conducted at Auburn University and Gulf Shores

– Data recovery conducted during Summer and Fall 2010

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Recovery Exercises

• Exercise 1 Conducted on July 21st and 22nd , 2010• 31 students completed the exercise on AU campus• Located 3 data points

• Exercise 2 conducted August 2010• Professionals completed exercise in Gulf Shores• Located 15 data points (5 buried, 10 real world)

• Exercise 3 Conducted September 16• 11 AU Geog students conducted exercise in GS• Located 15 data points (5 buried, 10 real world)

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Utilities Gulf Shores Orange Beach TOTALWater

Fire Hydrants, Valves, Meters, Backflow Preventers, Fire Department Connection (FDC)

1794 1266 3060

GasValves, Meters, High Pressure Assemblies, Regulators

253 105 358

TelecommunicationsSwitching Station/Cabinet, Pedestal

559 404 963

SewerManholes, Pump/Lift Stations, Laterals

486 312 798

CablePedestals, Boxes, Cable/Fiber Text Box, Communications Manhole

311 417 728

Storm WaterGrate Inlets, Yard Inlets, Curb Inlets

178 493 671

ElectricityElectric Poles, Electric Meter, Transformer

1471 1483 2954

TOTAL 5052 4480 9532

RecapNearly 10,000 data points for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach

500+ hours to collect60 man days to locate/recover all data:

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Awards

• Campus Technology Innovator Award, 2010• AU College of Business Star Award, 2010• AU College of Business Innovative Outreach

Professional Award, 2010• Applied for:

– Computer world Innovations in Use of IT, 2011– Department of Homeland Security Essay

Competition, 2011

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Benefits: Student Learning

• Students get to work with GPS technologies

• Give back to community

• Learn technical specialized technologies

• Improve communication skills

• Improve team working skills

• Enhance leadership skills

• Students stated that they understood goals and learned significantly

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Benefits: Advance Productivity, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship

• 40% of reconstruction costs can be eliminated if geospatial data are available online

• Time to recover from damage is expected to be halved due to the availability of these data

• Will make economic impact of this project very attractive

• The concept of geospatial mapping of a coastal area is innovative

• Project team members learn to apply theories learned in class to solve a practical problem

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For More Information

www.auburn.edu/gis

www.auburn.edu/grac