VAMLIS Mission The Virginia Association for Mapping and Land Information Systems is a professional association in Virginia designed to provide educational and networking opportunities for professionals who have an interest in the mapping sciences in Virginia.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has long been the backbone of many municipal asset management and planning strategies. It is common for municipalities to invest time and resources in this technology to inventory critical infrastructure assets, develop agile and quick mapping and visualization tools, and provide land use information to the public. To maximize the functionality offered by such systems, extensive effort is required to ensure that accurate data goes into the system.
One of the most important considerations in implementing and using a GIS is having full, complete data to use as a baseline for analysis and planning. As a system designed to manage expensive infrastructure such as water and wastewater systems, roads, and emergency response programs, it pays to first have a full account of a municipality’s infrastructure asset data. This data is used at the fundamental level of any municipal planning tools or asset management programs built in a GIS and is the key to making the most of such a system.
The Town of Herndon understood that going back to basics – the integrity and quality of their data – was critical for them to continue their progress with their substantial plans for enhanced GIS and asset management systems. In this presentation, we will cover the steps that Herndon took to update the GIS data, and how having solid baseline data will allow them to expand their GIS to include the development of processes which will benefit their asset management program, capital budgeting, public outreach, and internal analysis and planning.
Herndon Department of Public Works – GIS Data Update Pilot Project The Town of Herndon, VA owns and maintains a variety of infrastructure including water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, among other public assets such as a highly rated parks system. Herndon has long used GIS to manage their data and in 2010, they completed a town-wide survey of the utility assets. Like many municipalities, however, they haven’t always had the staffing resources available to consistently maintain the GIS. In 2023, Herndon requested assistance from CDM Smith to bring their system up to date and fill key gaps in their data. The first task was to update the Town’s GIS databases with the water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater data from the most recent construction projects and infrastructure replacement projects dating back to 2010. CDM Smith and Herndon gathered as-built drawings and records and started the update process by converting the as-built infrastructure records into an appropriate format for georeferencing. Utilizing the tools in the GIS, new assets were added to the Town’s GIS database and existing assets were modified to reflect new configurations. This was also an important opportunity for Herndon to decide what type of assets they wanted to add to their system and expand the types of data they manage in the GIS.
This data development phase is the first step in series of plans to build a sustainable program that will empower Herndon to be able to keep their data up to date and continually improve the accuracy and completeness of their utility systems. Having a full, complete base level of data allows for the creation of more useful and pertinent planning and analysis tools for the Town for years to come.
