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IMAGINE, Geographic Information as A Shared ResourceEscambia County, Florida — Imagine, if after a hurricane the County could instantly produce a detailed map indicating flooded or otherwise damaged properties and speed the processing of federal and state disaster relief applications. Or, imagine ECUA being able to pinpoint a pipeline break on a digital map, show all valves required to isolate the break for repairs, and identify the affected customers before shutting off the water, all within minutes.Within three years, the imaginary scenarios above may very well be reality. Escambia County, ECUA, the City of Pensacola, and the Property Appraiser have entered into an inter-local agreement to develop a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS). They call the system, IMAGINE, which stands for Inter-local Mapping And Geographic Information Network of Escambia. It’s much more than just a computerized mapping system. IMAGINE is a system that relates diverse, otherwise disjointed information into a unified system utilizing geographic location as the common element. "We’re very excited about the capabilities that the GIS will afford ECUA," says Bill Johnson, Director of Engineering at ECUA. "It will facilitate countless aspects of ECUA operations from engineering planning to water distribution and sanitation collection. That translates to a higher quality product and better customer service." Approximately 90 per cent of all local government data relates to geography. Map graphics are constructed in separate layers with a common coordinate system, each referencing a particular feature or group of features such as streets, utilities, property, easements, zoning, political districts, wetlands, or watersheds, and the information associated with these features. A database query operates on the selected features and related information and displays the results in the form of a map. Unique to GIS is the structure which stores and manages spatial relationships among networks such as streets and pipes, and polygons such as parcels, zoning, or soil types, supporting sophisticated analysis and reporting capabilities. Information may be assembled and presented in any form required. "IMAGINE will take complex data and present it in an easily interpreted form," says Phillip Veazey, Escambia County GIS Coordinator, who was formerly with ECUA. Think of compiling the list of properties damaged during the hurricane and mulling through hundreds, or thousands, of parcel reference numbers and addresses, trying to form a mental picture of the areas affected and the extent of the damage. Now IMAGINE the parcels automatically plotted on a map of the county, color coded according to the type of damage, flood, wind, or both, or the amount of damage vs. assessed value, all as the list is being generated. "It gives the old adage a picture is worth a thousand words real meaning," says Veazey. The 1.8 million dollar project is beginning a six-month pilot phase to test the database design and establish applications. Each participating agency has committed to implement the technology and fund the development of the "common" land base (map) data. Escambia County’s share is 39 per cent, ECUA’s, 33 per cent, and The City of Pensacola, 28 per cent. Other governmental and corporate agencies may participate in the future by sharing in the cost of developing the "common" base map data. Access by the public and private agencies will be decided upon after policies addressing public data and privacy issues are set. IMAGINE will enable electronic data sharing among agencies and departments permitting local government to work as a single enterprise and avoid duplication of effort and expenditures. " GIS is becoming an essential management tool for local governments and the city is committed to its development in cooperation with Escambia County, ECUA and the Property Appraiser’s Office," says John Raby, Director of MIS for the City of Pensacola. In the future citizens will be able to use their home computers to access the system via the Internet to easily find out things like which voter precinct they are in and the easiest route for getting there. IMAGINE, when completely developed, will very likely put the entire county just a few keystrokes away. Related Press Announcements (PDF) www.co.escambia.fl.us |
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