From February through August 2009, a contractor hired by CWLP surveyed and used a global positioning system (GPS) to map the location of thousands of water system infrastructure components. This project is now enabling the Water Division to benefit from the City of Springfield/Sangamon County Geographical Information System (GIS), in which the Electric Division has been taking part since 2003. GIS is a system of hardware, software and procedures designed to support the capture, storage, management, analysis and display of information related to the location of property and other assets. The Water Division's portion of the GIS has been up and running since October 1, 2009.

The city/county GIS allows the utility to maintain a precise, computerized mapping of all in-field water system assets, including hydrants, valves and meters, as well as the in-field assets of the Electric Division. This information can be used to site new system installations and to rapidly pinpoint the location of equipment that requires repair or upgrading, as well as to more quickly identify the facilities associated with and properties affected by outages, water leaks and other service problems or emergencies than was previously possible. The GIS also allows the utility to track patterns in equipment failures and determine which assets, including water mains, are a high priority for replacement. From information provided by the GIS, Water Division engineers are developing a hydraulic model that will enable CWLP to better plan for future water needs and aid in designing the location and size of new water mains. An additional benefit offered by the Water Division's portion of the GIS is that it the Fire Department now has access to more accurate and detailed information about the location of all hydrants in the city and the water flows available from each.

Altogether, during the initial survey, 6,533 hydrants, 15,535 valves, and approximately 52,000 meters and meter pits were mapped. Surveyors were also able to determine that the water system includes a total of 750 miles of water main. As new assets are installed, they will also be mapped and added to the GIS.

More information about the city/county GIS, CWLP's role in developing it, and how the CWLP Electric Division utilizes it can be found elsewhere on this website.

For more information about CWLP's water transmission and distribution system, or about the Water Division in general, select any of the topics or subtopics listed in the left-hand column of this page.

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Last update: 06/01/10