Changes you make to the Local Government Information Model schema may necessitate extensive modifications of the maps documents, and changes to apps (web apps, mobile apps, ArcGIS Desktop, etc.) that are part of ArcGIS for Water Utilities.\u00a0 So the closer you stay to the core Local Government Information Model, the easier your initial deployment will be and the easier it will be to migrate your ArcGIS implementation to new releases or to deploy updates to the maps and apps.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also important to note that when we say \u201cadopt\u201d the Local Government Information Model we don\u2019t mean that you necessarily have to use it as is (or more appropriately \u2013 as downloaded).\u00a0 You probably will need to configure the Local Government Information to meet the needs of your organization.\u00a0\u00a0 But the key thing to keep in mind is you should only be making changes to accommodate the true organizational needs of your utility. For example, instead of changing the field names to the field names you\u2019d like to use in your organization, modify field and map layer aliases.\u00a0\u00a0 Bottom line, don\u2019t reinvent the wheel, just make changes that are required to meet specific business needs in your organization.<\/p>\n
At the very least you need to change the projection to the appropriate coordinate system and set up the domains to reflect the assets in use at your utility.\u00a0 Small utilities or utilities that are new to GIS may choose to take the Local Government Information Model as is, while larger utilities, mature GIS implementations, or GIS implementations that are integrated with other enterprise system will undoubtedly need to make more significant configurations or extensions to the schema to reflect their organizational needs.<\/p>\n
Water, Sewer and Stormwater Data Modeling Best Practices<\/b><\/p>\n
The Local Government Information Model incorporates many best practices for water utility GIS.\u00a0 One of the most important best practices is how to represent a water, sewer or stormwater system in GIS.<\/p>\n
For years Esri had downloadable data models for water, wastewater and stormwater utility networks.\u00a0 Those data models were the first freely available water utility GIS data models.\u00a0 They were stewarded by Esri, but built by the user community and became the industry standard.\u00a0 Globally thousands of water utilities have built their GIS around Esri\u2019s free data models.<\/p>\n
The Local Government Informational Model is the next iteration of Esri\u2019s water, sewer and stormwater data models.\u00a0 In essence we\u2019ve modernized the data models to reflect how water utilities have been deploying GIS over the past few years and we\u2019ve also modified the schema to fit the requirements of the ArcGIS for Water Utilities maps and apps.\u00a0 As water utility GIS continues to evolve Esri will regularly maintain the Local Government Information Model to keep introducing new best practices into the user community and functionality into our apps.<\/p>\n
Comprehensive Data Model<\/b><\/p>\n
There is no doubt Esri\u2019s water, wastewater and stormwater data models were an incredibly valuable starting point for water utilities to get their utility networks into GIS.\u00a0 Since the original data models focused primarily on a data structure for the assets that comprise utility networks, we received feedback that many utilities wanted more guidance on how to model operational data (workorders, service requests, customer complaints, main breaks, capital improvement projects, etc.) and base data (roads edge of pavement, road centerlines, elevation data, parcels, etc.) in their GIS.\u00a0 The Local Government Data Model solves this problem because it includes a complete schema for typical water utility base data and operational data.<\/p>\n
Over the years, an observation we\u2019ve made is that water utilities struggle with how to model and manage schemas for datasets that aren\u2019t their utility networks or operational data \u2013 simply put managing base data can be a challenge for water utilities. For example we\u2019ve seen a lot of utilities struggle with managing roads, parcel, buildings, etc. in their enterprise GIS, especially when these datasets are coming from other organizations or departments.<\/p>\n
This is a particular issue for water utilities that serve multiple units of local government such as authorities, county wide utilities, state wide utilities and private companies.\u00a0 A good example of this is a water authority whose service territory includes three counties.\u00a0\u00a0 The water authority needs parcel data that is maintained by the counties.\u00a0 County A, County B and County C all use different schemas for their parcels.\u00a0 So the water utility had two choices \u2013 leave the parcels in 3 different data layers and use them as is \u2013 which makes analysis, map creation and integration with other systems at the utility that need parcel data (such as a customer information system) difficult.\u00a0 Or invest time to extract, transfer and load (ETL) the parcels into a common schema so they can be used as a single seamless layer across the service area.\u00a0 The Local Government Information Model can now serve as the common schema in this example.<\/p>\n
Easier Data Sharing<\/b><\/p>\n
We describe the Local Government Information as a harmonized information model \u2013 meaning designed to accommodate typical GIS needs across local government.\u00a0 If organizations that commonly share data all adopt the Local Government Information Model, it will greatly reduce the time and resources spent establishing a common schema and migrating data to these schemas \u2013 thus allowing water utilities to focus on the maintenance and management of their authoritative data.<\/p>\n
For example a private water utility may serve two municipalities.\u00a0 If the water utility and both municipalities all adopt the Local Government Information Model then they can all very easily exchange data.\u00a0\u00a0 When the water utility needs road centerline and edge of pavement layers from the municipalities than the utility can just import the new data without having to manipulate the schema and will have seamless layers for their service areas.\u00a0 The same logic applies to the water utility sharing data with the municipalities \u2013 when the water utility updates the location of their upcoming capital projects, the utility can share that data back with the municipalities and the municipalities can use it without any schema manipulation.<\/p>\n
Best Cartographic Practices for Water Utility Maps<\/b><\/p>\n
As we\u2019ve discussed in a\u00a0previous blog<\/a>, the Local Government Information Model includes geodatabase schema, map documents and specification for services necessary to deploy the ArcGIS for Water Utilities and ArcGIS for Local Government maps and apps.<\/p>\n The map documents highlight Looking to the Future<\/b><\/p>\n The specification for the services (map, feature, geoprocessing, etc) necessary for the ArcGIS Water Utilities maps and apps are also part of the Local Government Information Model.\u00a0 So if other local government entities in the service area of water utility embrace the Local Government Information Model, ArcGIS for Local Government and start to publish services, then water utilities can consume those services for their maps and apps.\u00a0 In this scenario the water utility may no longer have to import some data into their own geodatabase and can just consume the services right from the organization that is the steward of the data.<\/p>\n We hope you\u2019ve found this exploration of some of the benefits water, wastewater and stormwater utilities will experience when adopting the Local Government Information Model helpful.\u00a0 We encourage your feedback on the information in this blog, the Local Government Information Model or ArcGIS for Water Utilities.<\/p>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":4661,"user_firstname":"Howard","user_lastname":"Crothers","nickname":"Howard Crothers","user_nicename":"hcrothers","display_name":"Howard Crothers","user_email":"hcrothers@esri.com","user_url":"http:\/\/solutions.arcgis.com","user_registered":"2018-03-02 00:16:15","user_description":"Howard leads the Esri team developing ArcGIS Solutions for electric, gas, water, sewer, stormwater, communications, renewables, and district heating and cooling.","user_avatar":"
\nbest practices for displaying water, wastewater and stormwater data in the context that each map is designed to be used.\u00a0 For example the map documents included with the\u00a0Mobile Map Template\u00a0<\/a>have best practice cartography for displaying water utility GIS data in the field in both a day and night time use map.\u00a0 The same goes for the map document included with the\u00a0Infrastructure Editing Template<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 this is a best practice map document for editing water utility data with ArcGIS Desktop.<\/p>\n
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