Instructions for Geospatial Mapping Project Geospatial Research and Applications Center (GRAC) EDA Funded Project (Grant# G004824) 6/16/2011 1

Background: Problem Statement  Hurricane storm surge and wash of sand and debris inland frustrates clean-up effort  Heavy Equipment damages fixtures covered by debris and sand  50% or more of the damage inflicted on critical utilities during the clean- up effort  $17 million of damage in 2008 hurricane season  Preventing damage to fixtures means city will be able to allow residents and tourists to return sooner and businesses to restart 3

Current Condition Each utility company has print or electronic maps in different formats Little coordination during clean-up to protect utility infrastructure Limited information sharing system in place to deliver plans to clean-up personnel

5 Project Goal Effectively collect, store, and retrieve infrastructure data from multiple partners in the Alabama coastal community Decrease the damage done to the infrastructure during cleanup activities after a hurricane Help the community to recover quickly after a natural disaster Help maintain the overall stability and sustainability of a community

Partners City of Gulf Shores City of Orange Beach City of Bayou La Batre Town of Dauphin Island Riviera Utilities Clarke Mobile Gas CenturyLink Orange Beach Water Authority Bayou La Batre Water Authority AL Dept. of Homeland Security AL Dept. of Emergency Management 6

Project Importance Infrastructure & many public services are geographically oriented – Daily Operations – street & utility maintenance – Strategic Planning – zoning, economic development Disasters – Preparation – evacuation, locating resources – Disaster Response – deploying resources – Disaster Recovery – inspection, return of people 7

GIS / GPS- Based Solution GIS- Geographic Information System ArcGIS- A GIS system developed by the Environment Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Widely used system for surveying and referencing various locations and structures GIS integrates information from satellite imagery, aerial photography, and latitude/longitude coordinates We use GPS (global positioning system) units to link actual landmarks to coordinates Computer program overlays coordinates with satellite and aerial images Produces easy to understand map of various utility fixtures 8

9 What is GIS and GPS? Geographic Positioning System ZMU&feature=related ZMU&feature=related Geographic Information Systems feature=related feature=related Geospatial Technology

Activities done to date……. 10 Data Collection Locations: Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Ft. Morgan, Bayou La Batre Data Recovery Locations: Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Auburn University

Past Data Collection – ~ 60 students have been involved in data collection – Were led by two student team leaders – Mapping conducted in Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island, Orange Beach, Fort Morgan – Data collection conducted during Spring and Summer

DateData Points Collected Walking Miles March 5– March April April April June June Total11,66188 Data Collection Feb 19-21, 2010 – Two teams of 4 students collected data in GS – Data Points Collected: 605 – Walking Miles Covered: 4 Feb , 2010 – Three teams of 4 students collected data in GS – Data Points Collected:1592 – Walking Miles Covered: 9.16 Similarly 12

13 GULFSHORESGULFSHORES ORANGEBEACHORANGEBEACH FORTMORGANFORTMORGAN

Data Collected So far Data Points Collected:12,000+ Walking Miles : 90+ Total Manhours:

Example of Collected Data 15

Past Data Recovery Exercises – ~ 30 students have been involved in data recovery exercises – Data recovery exercises were conducted at Auburn University and Gulf Shores – Data recovery conducted during Summer and Fall

Recovery Exercises Exercise 1 Conducted on July 21 st and 22 nd, students completed the exercise on AU campus Located 3 data points Exercise 2 conducted August 2010 Professionals completed exercise in Gulf Shores Located 15 data points (5 buried, 10 real world) Exercise 3 Conducted September AU Geog students conducted exercise in GS Located 15 data points (5 buried, 10 real world) 17

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UtilitiesGulf ShoresOrange BeachTOTAL Water Fire Hydrants, Valves, Meters, Backflow Preventers, Fire Department Connection (FDC) Gas Valves, Meters, High Pressure Assemblies, Regulators Telecommunications Switching Station/Cabinet, Pedestal Sewer Manholes, Pump/Lift Stations, Laterals Cable Pedestals, Boxes, Cable/Fiber Text Box, Communications Manhole Storm Water Grate Inlets, Yard Inlets, Curb Inlets Electricity Electric Poles, Electric Meter, Transformer TOTAL Recap Nearly 10,000 data points for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach 500+ hours to collect 60 man days to locate/recover all data:

Awards Campus Technology Innovator Award, 2010 AU College of Business Star Award, 2010 AU College of Business Innovative Outreach Professional Award, 2010 Applied for: – Computer world Innovations in Use of IT, 2011 – Department of Homeland Security Essay Competition,

Benefits: Student Learning Students get to work with GPS technologies Give back to community Learn technical specialized technologies Improve communication skills Improve team working skills Enhance leadership skills Students stated that they understood goals and learned significantly 21

Benefits: Advance Productivity, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship 40% of reconstruction costs can be eliminated if geospatial data are available online Time to recover from damage is expected to be halved due to the availability of these data Will make economic impact of this project very attractive The concept of geospatial mapping of a coastal area is innovative Project team members learn to apply theories learned in class to solve a practical problem 22

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