Vallecitos Water District (VWD) utilizes Esri’s ArcGIS Platform as a spatial-based GIS business solutions application to help deliver water, wastewater, and reclamation services to its customers. Within its 45-square-mile boundary, VWD serves more than 108,000 people in San Marcos, Carlsbad, Escondido, Vista, and other unincorporated northern San Diego County areas.
Quartic Solutions, a premiere Esri business partner, worked with VWD to modernize several components of its GIS system, which had failed one day and field workers were without GIS for several days. Quartic GIS experts fixed the problem in one day. VWD also had other issues, such as difficulty determining what was wrong with its GIS program and using old software versions.
Quartic's modernization effort included upgrades to the district’s mapping system, which now features functionality for improved field data collection, network tracing, lead pipe management, and dashboards for managers to review water and sewer asset maintenance metrics.
The modernization included a successful pilot test of VWD’s GIS data migration from its legacy software to the current ArcGIS Utility Network. This solution helps the district to understand and maintain its pipe network better. It also enables VWD to access actionable data to support all components of its utility network system (pipes, valves, devices) and to build real-world behavior in the network. Implementing best practices on VWD’s enterprise GIS has resulted in a significant improvement to the usability, performance, and levels of security.
The ArcGIS Utility Network was selected because of its advanced spatial data functions and services that provide smoother handling of large geographic datasets. Using this solution, VWD can also leverage its existing ArcGIS Enterprise system and the ArcGIS Pro desktop application, improving the user experience and communication across the organization.
In addition, ArcGIS® Field Maps was implemented to simplify VWD’s field data collection. Previously, staff used paper documents and manually entered this data into Microsoft® Excel spreadsheets. Esri’s ArcGIS Field Maps is an app that uses data-driven maps and mobile forms to help workers perform data capture and editing, find assets and data, and report their real-time locations. This app streamlines mobile personnel's daily critical workflows; everyone in the field or the office benefits from using the same data.
VWD implemented Esri’s Lead Service Line Inventory application to help them track water lines that have lead in them. This ArcGIS solution can be used to develop a lead service line inventory and monitor the replacement of service lines required to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Revisions. Lead contamination in drinking water can be caused by leaching lead used in old water mains, service lines, pipe joints, plumbing fittings, and fixtures. The application delivers capabilities that help track lead service lines, validate service line materials in the field, monitor replacement activities and regulatory compliance, and share information with the public.
Replacing lead service lines is the best way to reduce the risk of exposure to lead in drinking water across a community. Under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, water utilities must create and maintain a lead service line inventory. Having authoritative information about the number and location of lead service lines is the first step in creating a removal program to safeguard the community’s health. Lead service line inventory is typically implemented by water utilities that want to quickly begin mapping lead service lines and monitoring compliance with federal regulations.
VWD now boasts two dynamic dashboards for internal staff, each offering a unique and user-friendly experience. The System Data Dashboard provides dynamic metrics on VWD's water and sewer assets, presenting counts, length, material, diameter, and more in an easily user-friendly format. The Water and Sewer Risk Dashboard offers metrics on several risk criteria, equipping the team with valuable insights on their water and sewer lines.
Quartic’s GIS experts also developed and implemented a comprehensive pipe maintenance executive dashboard for the district’s management. This dashboard allows executives to track the progress of line fixes and identify areas that still require attention easily and quickly. The implementation included enhancements to third-party software integration, ensuring that the district’s asset management software seamlessly interacts with the GIS environment.
