County shows GIS asset-mapping demo; staff report thousands of meters and mapped fire coverage

GIS staff (Speaker 6) demonstrated a new county GIS tool that maps water mains, storage tanks, pump houses, hydrants, fire stations and road layers. The presenter said the mapping shows about 225.59 miles of water mains (mains only, not service lines) and that 3,667 water meters have been GPS-located in the system, with roughly 50 remaining to find.

The system includes layers that display pipe diameters by color, coordinates and size for storage tanks, pinpoints for pump houses and a 5-mile coverage ring around every fire station so staff can assess emergency coverage. GIS staff said they will deploy mobile apps to field crews so personnel can update locations and asset conditions in real time; county staff noted the high accuracy of GPS locations and that some meter boxes have not been touched in five years.

Presenters said the project, which the county completed in about a year after obtaining the program last February, exceeded earlier estimates and is close to full rollout. Staff said improved layers and hydrant information should also support ISO inspection work by fire officials.