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Unexpected Benefits from GIS in a Water DistrictMichael Samuel President, Nobel Systems, Inc., USA Email:msamuel@nobel-systems.com Then Pit Fan Assistant Manager, GIS Expert, ASMA, Malaysia E-mail : pfthen@enviromalaysia.com.my Abstract It takes a leap of faith for many Boards to jump onto the GIS Bandwagon. It takes forward thinking leadership to move favorably on a project that has no end and continually need updates and maintenance. For the health and longevity of GIS projects, there needs to be numerous quick wins to demonstrate cost benefits. These need to be more than just charts showing man-hours saved, better decisions being made or number of maps created. They need to be tangible real-world solutions to problems that communities face. Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s use of GIS moved the District from being reactive to problems to being proactive and finding solutions that helped prevent problems from happening. This presentation will detail some of the early and current GIS projects that led, some unexpectedly, to tremendous cost benefits not only for the District, but also for the Community and the environment at large. Nobel Systems hosts the entire GIS data of the District on its secure web servers in California, and provides an easy to use viewer called GeoViewer Online for all district staff to use. In addition, the District has linked their billing information, SCADA, real time vehicle location tracking, scans of the as-built record drawings and easements, and leak information. The district also uses a software called GeoViewer Onsight, which allows internal views of the facilities, such as pumpstations, tanks and reservoirs to be linked to the GIS in addition to maintenance manuals, 3D views of features and operation and safety notes. Background On a tract of land called Rancho Las Encinitas, in California twenty-five families started the colony of Olivenhain in 1884. This small party of sixty-seven German settlers began the community that is the District's namesake. Today, some area residents are descendants of the original colonists. 
The gradual decline of farming activity during the 1950's combined with the importation of water to Southern California slowly transformed the Olivenhain area into its present residential status.The Olivenhain Municipal Water District was originally incorporated on April 9, 1959 for the purpose of developing an adequate water supply for landowners and residents of the District. On June 14, 1960, residents of the Olivenhain Municipal Water District voted to become a member of the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, thus becoming eligible to purchase water transported into San Diego County via the massive aqueducts of these two agencies. Currently, the District includes over 48 square miles, and services a population of approximately 58,000 residents. The District includes portions of the cities of Encinitas, Carlsbad, San Diego, Solana Beach, and San Marcos as well as the communities of Olivenhain, Leucadia, Elfin Forest, Rancho Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch, Santa Fe Valley and 4S Ranch.
OMWD’s GIS Program Objectives As of 2000, OMWD had no GIS, but they had some digitized atlas maps and consultant owned maps They had a variety of data that they wanted in GIS such as Atlas maps, As-built plans, Meter data, Maintenance data, Easement documents etc. 
They described requirements of the GIS system to Nobel, such as an easy user interface, low cost data conversion, access to data from multiple sites, links to as-builts and no additional personnel to run system.The GIS Program Objectives were to develop a map of OMWD’s Distribution & Collection System and Locate Specific Assets, provide means to search for and locate Assets, Property Owners, etc., provide for electronic storage and retrieval of system drawings, provide rapid access to As-built Drawings and link inspection and maintenance reports to specific assets. We proposed to use a secure online web based application to host their data. OMWD chose an online hosted solution because it was a cost-effective way to implement a GIS System, it eliminated the hassle and expense of hosting in-house, there was no investment in computer facilities or manpower, it provided access to GIS data over the web using Internet Explorer from any PC with an internet connection and allowed users to effectively use the GIS without extensive training. Field crews can have instant access to their District data without having to go back to the office to pull as-builts or access their workstations. Furthermore, Nobel Systems handles the entire system including loading data, serving it up from their secure, redundant servers, providing high speed access using multi-line T-1 connections. The data remains the property of the District and backup copies are provided on a regular basis. We also ensure the security of the data with encrypted login screens, secure server, and anti-virus protection. In summary, OMWD has a cost effective On-Line GIS System with links to drawings, reports, etc. The system serves field crews in addition to the OMWD facilities. OMWD found solutions to many challenges it faced through the use of GIS. The system can be accessed from any location. The GIS system may be expanded to include other resources as time and budget permit.
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