Beneath our cities lies a complex network of infrastructure, essential for the functioning of water, sewage, gas, electricity, and telecommunications services. To ensure the efficient and sustainable management of these networks, a detailed understanding of their location, condition, and interconnections is necessary. This is where Geographic Information Systems (GIS) come into play, a technology that allows us to visualize, analyze, and manage geographic information in an interactive manner.

GIS and Utility Networks: A Strategic Partnership

A recent project, implemented for the water and wastewater network of Voluntari city, perfectly illustrates how GIS can revolutionize urban infrastructure management. Initiated by EUROAPAVOL with the aim of obtaining a clear and accurate view of these networks and ensuring their proper functioning, the project was completed within 6 months of contract signing.

Details about the project “Technical Assistance Services for the Management of the Regional Development Project for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in the Europavol operating area for the period 2014-2020” can be found here.

Through the GIS system we created, we obtained a clear and accurate picture of the networks, facilitating:

Urban planning: Identifying areas with development potential, assessing the impact of new constructions on existing infrastructure, and optimizing routes for new networks.

Maintenance and repairs: Rapid localization of failures, planning repair works, and optimizing routes for intervention teams.

Investments: Evaluating investment needs and prioritizing network modernization projects.

Cost reduction: Optimizing operations and reducing water losses.

Improved services: Providing higher quality services to users.

What are the functionalities of the GIS system we created?

Our GIS system offers the following functionalities:

• Graphical representation of all water and sewerage network components in the Stereographic 1970 projection system and the Black Sea 1975 altimetric system.
• Inventory of both water and sewerage networks, as well as infrastructure elements, in a geospatial database.
• Graphical and textual updates to the database content.
• Spatial and textual analysis capabilities.
• Plotting maps at various scales and paper formats.
• Installation on a variable number of computers and mobile devices.
• Data collection in the field and database updates/completions using mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets and the most common operating systems.

What is the role of this project for the network operator?

This project provides a solid foundation for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the infrastructure managed by the network operator. It will:

• Serve as a central repository of data for technical departments, operation and maintenance units, dispatch, and other relevant teams.
• Facilitate the seamless transfer of information to a hydraulic modeling program, which the network operator will develop in the future.

GIS Implementation Process for Utility Networks

The creation of the GIS database for utility networks involved several stages and activities:

Data Collection: Gathering existing data from various sources (water company database reports, as-built plans, maps, street directories) and supplementing with new information obtained through topographic and photogrammetric surveys.

Field Measurements: Conducting traditional and photogrammetric measurements to produce orthophotomaps and topographic surveys for creating the background plan.

Orthophotomap Creation: Generating an orthophotomap with a resolution of less than 5 cm, accompanied by DTM and DSM of similar accuracy.

Topographic Surveys: Executing surveys for elements of interest: property boundaries, street addresses, road-sidewalk-green space boundaries, precise positioning of connections, manholes, drains, meters, hydrants, valves, and any other elements relevant to water/sewer networks or the supporting cadastral database.

Data Processing: Processing collected data to obtain a digital terrain model and orthophotomaps.

Data Vectorization: Converting raster data (images) into vector data (points, lines, polygons) to represent network elements.

Data Collection Plan: Developing a plan to ensure complete inventory of the city’s infrastructure in the geographic database, including geographic location, number of connected users, type, diameter, materials, pipe condition, routes, geometry, age, depth, soil type, pavement type, slab levels, flow levels, connection levels, etc.

GIS Database Creation: Inputting vectorized data into QGIS to create a geospatial database.

Data Analysis: Utilizing GIS functionalities to perform spatial analyses and obtain valuable information about the network.

Collaboration: Maintaining close communication with the water company’s designated personnel to ensure a correct and accurate flow of information.

Technology: Employing state-of-the-art equipment, such as tablets with mobile GIS applications, drones equipped with specialized photogrammetric cameras, and cutting-edge GPS equipment, to capture images and extract necessary coordinates.

In essence, the process involved:

• Collecting and processing data from various sources.
• Creating a detailed digital representation of the utility network.
• Building a comprehensive geospatial database in QGIS.
• Analyzing the data to extract valuable insights.

This comprehensive approach ensured the creation of a highly accurate and detailed GIS database for managing the city’s utility infrastructure.

What challenges were encountered during the project implementation?

The greatest challenge in such a project is collecting data from the field, a laborious and time-consuming process that requires careful coordination between field teams and representatives of the water company. The work relies on the technical assistance of the water company.

Without underground detection equipment (ground penetrating radar), the quality of the collected data is directly influenced by the operator’s experience and the accuracy of the information provided by them. Obstacles such as blocked, paved manholes or clogged chambers can significantly compromise data quality.

Heavy traffic and parked vehicles obstruct access to manholes, significantly hindering field data collection. The large amount of information obtained requires strict procedures to ensure efficient management.

The use of the cloud for data storage and sharing, as well as the automation of certain tasks in QGIS, can optimize the process and improve the quality of results.

Project Results

The DTG team successfully completed topographic surveys covering a 150 km water network and a 112 km wastewater network. Over 10,000 infrastructure elements were inventoried during this project.

GIS Project – City of Voluntari in Numbers:

• Water manholes: 108
• Valves: 492
• Service connection manholes: 102
• Water meters: 104
• Service connections: 8663
• Hydrants: 752
• Sewerage manholes: 2758
• Connection chambers: 265
• Connection pipes: 4898
• Drains: 2887

To optimize costs and reduce project execution time, we recommend investing in Guideline Georadar equipment. This technology enables non-destructive detection of buried utilities and water from the surface, eliminating the need for exploratory excavations or drilling.

Mapping underground utilities allows us to build smarter and more sustainable cities, optimize urban planning, ensure the safety and efficiency of existing infrastructure, and facilitate sustainable development.

For personalized offers on creating GIS systems for urban infrastructure, please contact us.