{"id":577306,"date":"2025-07-03T16:18:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T16:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/?post_type=blog&p=577306"},"modified":"2025-07-03T16:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T16:21:09","slug":"gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency","title":{"rendered":"\u00c1guas do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Rui Leite, GIS Coordinator, \u00c1guas do Norte<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u00c1guas do Norte<\/a> is a water supply and sanitation utility in Portugal that is responsible for managing two systems. The utility\u2019s conveyance system is responsible for the collection, treatment, and transport of water and the collection, treatment, and rejection of domestic and urban domestic and urban wastewater in 63 municipalities. Staff operate and manage the distribution and collection system, providing \u00a0water distribution and basic sanitation services in eight municipalities.<\/p>\n\n

\u00c1guas do Norte has been using geographic information system (GIS) technology as a core component of its operational architecture for approximately a decade. The utility has progressively enhanced existing solutions by adopting ArcGIS Utility Network.<\/p>\n\n

Aguas do Norte\u2019s vision is to maximize the benefits of ArcGIS by creating GIS-enabled business systems\u2014in other words, to use GIS web services to extend the functionalities of existing business systems. These systems include enterprise asset management (EAM), operations and maintenance, dam management, alarm center, BI platforms, and customer relationship management (CRM), adding geolocation, mapping, and spatial analysis capabilities.<\/p>\n\n

Challenge<\/h2>\n\n

Designing a strategy for integrating GIS with the company\u2019s business systems was challenging. \u00c1guas do Norte focused on applications such as asset management, commercial operations, maintenance, infrastructure operations, dam monitoring, key performance indicators (KPIs), and balanced scorecard systems.<\/p>\n\n

The strategy needed to include enabling bidirectional data flows, specifically to receive and process georeferenced events reported within these applications\u2014water leaks, maintenance interventions, and other operational incidents.<\/p>\n\n

Solution<\/h2>\n\n

The migration to ArcGIS Utility Network allowed us to fully represent our complex water networks, model assets in more detail, and take advantage of the service-based architecture. After this first step, which took us a couple of years, the integration with other systems was our next priority.<\/p>\n\n

Our integration strategy with ArcGIS Utility Network centers around exposing ArcGIS REST API to internal systems\u2014such as EAM, dam management, and operations and maintenance (O&M) platforms\u2014while enabling authenticated editing capabilities for selected users and systems.<\/p>\n\n

These data inputs are further enriched within the GIS environment by being associated with network metadata such as district metered areas (DMAs), pressure zones, pipe material, and diameter. We utilize ArcGIS API for Python to automate enrichment, validation, and geoprocessing workflows.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Operational Event Systems Integration Architecture<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

Another key integration example involves synchronizing commercial data from our CRM platform, using the CRM\u2019s native API to extract records and populate a transitional SQL database through a structured extract, transform, and load (ETL) pipeline. This allows us to store, normalize, and manipulate high volumes of customer data without compromising the original data. It also enables the advanced querying and generation of spatially aware business insights through customized dashboards and reporting layers.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Commercial and Customer Data Integration Architecture<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

Results<\/h2>\n\n

The structuring of both commercial data (e.g., customer profiles and consumption) and operational data related to water leaks\u2014combined with the use of APIs to obtain additional network attributes such as DMAs and pressure zones\u2014has made it possible to enrich GIS layers with contextual information and automate key business processes.<\/p>\n\n

Through the visualization of pipe burst events along with the contextual attributes provided via APIs, we can now efficiently update our linear asset register\u2014specifically, fields such as pipe material and diameter\u2014based on real-time or near real-time operational data captured by business applications. Furthermore, this architecture supports advanced querying capabilities, allowing us to analyze failure rates per DMA and assess the temporal distribution of water leaks by month across the years, providing actionable insights for both operational response and strategic planning.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dashboard for Water Break Events<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

\u201cThe primary objective of a geographic information system is to deliver geographical context and decision-making capabilities to the business. To maximize return on investment and accelerate value delivery, \u00c1guas do Norte has strategically aligned its GIS initiatives with this vision, ensuring that business operations across departments benefit from enriched geospatial data and increased process efficiency.<\/em><\/strong>“<\/p>\n\n

The adoption of Utility Network, with its advanced capabilities available via web services, has enabled functionalities such as generating web-based network maps that support isolation tracing in the event of service disruption, as well as exporting the network dataset to water modeling platforms\u2014complete with validated topology and node-level consumption distribution.<\/p>\n\n

Stay Connected with Esri’s Water Team<\/h2>\n\n

ArcGIS is an extensive information system that enables modernization of workflows with easy-to-use applications. Strengthen your organization with GIS-based solutions that will increase efficiency and provide insight for decision-makers. Visit the Esri Water Utilities<\/a> web site for more information.<\/p>\n\n

Join the Water Utilities Community<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Follow #EsriWater on social media: X<\/a> | LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Subscribe to the Water Industry newsletter \u201cEsri News for Water Utilities and Water Resources<\/a>\u201c<\/p>","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[451,2202],"class_list":["post-577306","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-arcgis","tag-utility-network","industry-water-utilities"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u00c1guas Do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00c1guas do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Industry Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-03T16:21:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Records-Bursts.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1908\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"903\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency\",\"name\":\"\u00c1guas do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Event-System-1024x456.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-03T16:18:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-03T16:21:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Event-System.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Event-System.png\",\"width\":1263,\"height\":562},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u00c1guas do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Industry Blogs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/63b299b98844293e8c561496264c0a03\",\"name\":\"Christa Campbell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ChristaCampbell_2020-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ChristaCampbell_2020-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Christa Campbell\"},\"description\":\"Christa is an experienced water industry professional with 20 years of success using and promoting technology to solve problems in the water industry. Recognized for Industry thought leadership, strategic thinking, and building success with organizations across the globe. She is a passionate GIS advocate, lifelong learner and collaborator. Builds success jointly with teammates, peers, and customers. Christa is a certified GIS Professional and holds a graduate degree in Geography.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/water\/overview\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/crstacampbell\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CrstaCampbell\"],\"gender\":\"Female\",\"jobTitle\":\"Director Industry Solutions, Water\",\"worksFor\":\"Esri\",\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u00c1guas Do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network","description":"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u00c1guas do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network","og_description":"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency","og_site_name":"Industry Blogs","article_modified_time":"2025-07-03T16:21:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1908,"height":903,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Records-Bursts.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency","name":"\u00c1guas do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Event-System-1024x456.png","datePublished":"2025-07-03T16:18:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-03T16:21:09+00:00","description":"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Event-System.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Operational-Event-System.png","width":1263,"height":562},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-initiatives-increase-efficiency#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u00c1guas do Norte: GIS Integration Strategy Using ArcGIS Utility Network"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/","name":"Industry Blogs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/63b299b98844293e8c561496264c0a03","name":"Christa Campbell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ChristaCampbell_2020-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ChristaCampbell_2020-150x150.jpg","caption":"Christa Campbell"},"description":"Christa is an experienced water industry professional with 20 years of success using and promoting technology to solve problems in the water industry. Recognized for Industry thought leadership, strategic thinking, and building success with organizations across the globe. She is a passionate GIS advocate, lifelong learner and collaborator. Builds success jointly with teammates, peers, and customers. Christa is a certified GIS Professional and holds a graduate degree in Geography.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/water\/overview","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/crstacampbell\/","https:\/\/x.com\/CrstaCampbell"],"gender":"Female","jobTitle":"Director Industry Solutions, Water","worksFor":"Esri","url":""}]}},"text_date":"July 3, 2025","author_name":"Esri Water","author_page":false,"custom_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Areias-de-Vilar-WTP_banner.jpg","primary_product":"Water Utilities","tag_data":[{"term_id":451,"name":"ArcGIS","slug":"arcgis","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":451,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":72,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2202,"name":"utility network","slug":"utility-network","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2202,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"}],"category_data":[],"product_data":{"errors":{"invalid_taxonomy":["Invalid taxonomy."]},"error_data":[]},"primary_product_link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/industry\/water-utilities","short_description":"\u00c1guas do Norte strategically aligned GIS initiatives to ensure that all departments benefit from geospatial data and increased efficiency.","image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Areias-de-Vilar-WTP_card.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/577306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/577306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}