Carroll County Times Articles
Applications of GIS Technology
to Land Use and Water Resources Planning
by Dave Pielmeier & Mark W. Eisner – July 17, 2005
Envision technology that portrays a map of your community on your computer, either as it is now, or how you picture it in the future. Imagine being able to show only the information on the map that is of interest to you. Also visualize being able to recall and portray an infinite variety of other kinds of information for that same area, available after only a few clicks of the mouse.
Geographic Information Systems
Known as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this technology is real, and is utilized in natural sciences and land use applications every day in environmental consulting. The application of GIS technology is limitless.
Utilizing GIS, one could:
- Map roads and only property boundaries for the residential housing development or subdivision where you live.
- Add the positions of houses, sidewalks and driveways.
- Zoom into a specific property, and add a landscaping plan and its septic area.
- Zoom out to any scale appropriate for portraying school district, land use and zoning, and almost any other natural or demographic variable of a spatial nature.
Land Use and Growth Planning Tool
By tweaking the values of varying parameters, one can create a future map of a new scenario. It quickly becomes apparent how easily this technology becomes an invaluable land use and growth planning tool. The same technology that allows for the careful and accurate portrayal of spatial information, also allows planners to see the future environment and the consequences of plans and concepts before their implementation.
GIS is a relatively young field and is growing rapidly. In this day and age, most universities offer degrees and certifications in GIS. Many public and private sector employers already employ GIS technology. Still more find instant application once exposed to the power of the technology.
Public utilities apply GIS technology to record and map associated attributes of water, sewer, and storm drainage system components (e.g., fire hydrants, manholes, meters, valves, pipes, ponds, etc.). The associated attributes for wells, for example, may include the depth, when drilled and how much water is produced. Other applications include everything from emergency response plans to effective school bus route planning to limit traffic congestion.
One GIS application used here in Carroll County relates to drilling wells. When our hydrogeologists and GIS analysts evaluate locations for high-capacity wells, we incorporate many different types of spatial data into our analysis (geology, soils, wetlands, floodplains, land use, etc.). By applying GIS technology, we accomplish our well site selection work accurately, attractively and effectively. Future articles will discuss more specific GIS applications and techniques.
About the Author
Dave Pielmeier, GIS Analyst and Mark W. Eisner, President of Advanced Land & Water, Inc. and Advisor for the Carroll Technology Council (www.carrolltechcouncil.org) prepared this article. CTC is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating businesses, government and residents about technology issues. ALWI is an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Carroll County and specializes in water resources development, management and protection throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Questions are welcomed and may be addressed in future articles. Email Mark Eisner at info@alwi.com or go to www.carrolltechcouncil.org for a list of other Advisor categories.
