Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2005RI32B

Development of a Statewide Public Water-Supply GIS Coverage for Rhode Island

Institute: Rhode Island
Year Established: 2005 Start Date: 2005-03-06 End Date: 2006-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $12,746 Total Non-Federal Funds: $25,496

Principal Investigators: Anne Veeger, Nasir Hamidzada

Abstract: A key element of water supply infrastructure is the spatial distribution of public water-supply lines and service areas. Although spatial data exist for the 32 individual water-supplier service areas, there is no current unified statewide spatial inventory of these service areas and the existing attribute tables vary between the different datasets. The absence of a unified spatial dataset limits the ability of State agencies (i.e. Water Resources Board, Department of Health) to accurately catalog the water-supply infrastructure and develop/address planning elements related to public water supply. This project will address this need by assembling the existing supplier-specific water line and service area spatial datasets into a unified statewide geographic information system (GIS) coverage. The project will catalog the existing spatial data sets for supplier-specific water lines service areas and will complete the steps needed to assemble the spatial data into a unified and internally consistent spatial database of public supply service areas in Rhode Island. This unified spatial dataset with the accompanying maps and fact sheets will provide the water-supply infrastructure data needed for effective development of State Guide Plan elements and planning associated with development of state and local land-use plans, emergency drought response, emergency interconnections and supplemental water investigations. The objectives of the project are: Compilation of the existing water-supply service area spatial coverages. Complete control analysis of individual coverages. Unification of individual coverages into an internally consistent state-wide spatial dataset. Development of maps and fact sheets for technical assistance to state/town officials and for outreach and public education.