{"id":582241,"date":"2026-03-10T18:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/?post_type=blog&p=582241"},"modified":"2026-03-10T18:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:04:00","slug":"mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia","title":{"rendered":"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Manholes in Rural West Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nestled in the heart of south-central West Virginia, the 12-person Oak Hill Sanitary Board serves approximately 9,000 residents with wastewater services. Throughout the city, a forward-thinking culture allows Oak Hill geographic information system (GIS) coordinator Tyler Bragg, GISP, and the sanitary board to put proactive ideas into practice. This set the stage for a recent rehabilitation of both the data and infrastructure of one of the most rural portions of the city\u2019s sewer system.<\/p>\n\n

The Challenge: Inheriting a Rural System with Unreliable Legacy Data<\/h2>\n\n

In 2017, the sanitary board acquired the rural Arbuckle sanitary network from a local public service district (PSD). The inherited system, which now represents just under half of the board\u2019s total service area with one-third of the system\u2019s total manholes, is a little different from the urban system. The Arbuckle sewer infrastructure sprawls across steep wooded hills and gravel roads and beneath dense canopy\u2014conditions that make both maintenance and mapping extremely difficult.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
The Arbuckle sewer system (represented above by the blue dots) comprises just under half of Oak Hill Sanitary Board\u2019s service area\u2014about 3.71 out of 8.41 square miles. The Arbuckle system contains roughly one-third of the manholes in the system.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

A Landscape That Complicates Everything<\/h3>\n\n

Finding manholes in this environment is often educated guesswork. Inherited mapping records, dating 2010\u20132013, were based on mixed survey methods that frequently contained locations that were wrong by 10\u201340 feet, with some manholes as far as 80 feet off. Much of this geospatial data came from older GPS equipment that performed poorly in the mountainous Appalachian woodland. With such dense canopy, even aerial images offer little help locating manholes.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Densely wooded mountains make it nearly impossible to identify manholes from aerial imagery such as this drone photo taken by the City of Oak Hill.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

\u201cAll of our infrastructure was on the map, but it wasn\u2019t all field verified,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cUnverified data is less authoritative than if we got something that we had mapped with a high-accuracy location and could expect to find quickly again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Field crews routinely would spend hours trying to find lids supposedly located in briar thickets, gravel roads, or just somewhere in the woods.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spent days looking for manholes,\u201d Oak Hill collections system foreman Kyle Hobbs said. \u201cYou could be out there looking in the field, in a briar thicket where you can\u2019t see anything, and meanwhile your truck could be parked right on top of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Sometimes the only solution to find a manhole was to run a camera and locator. While generally effective, this is a time-consuming and inefficient method to locate infrastructure that should be easily accessible, adding unnecessary time and frustration to daily operational tasks.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
(Left) This ArcGIS screenshot shows the location of manhole 66A in the Arbuckle system. Legacy records had placed this manhole off the side of the road in vegetation, 35.82 feet away from its true location. In reality, manhole 66A is located in the road and hard to see due to gravel cover. <\/em>(Right) Manhole 66A is obscured by the gravel road it lies in.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

Aging Infrastructure and Inflow Problems<\/h3>\n\n

The Arbuckle network was built in the 1980s, when it was standard practice for manholes to have open ventilation. Today, such vents create infiltration and inflow (I&I)\u2014when nonwastewater (e.g., stormwater, creek water, runoff) flows into the system. I&I adds volume, increases treatment costs, stresses the system, and increases the risk of backups.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
In the 1980s, it was standard for manholes to have open ventilation. However, vented lids like this one allow nonwastewater from storms, creeks, and other sources into the system. This adds volume, increases treatment costs, stresses the system, and increases the risk of backups.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

The Solution: A Rehab Project Becomes a GIS Opportunity<\/h2>\n\n

The sanitary board launched the Arbuckle Rehabilitation Project to evaluate and address every manhole\u2019s needs. One treatment that every manhole got was replacing its lid and ring to drastically reduce I&I.<\/p>\n\n

Because contractors and an engineering inspector would already be visiting all of the system\u2019s hundreds of manholes, the city recognized a rare opportunity: to collect a complete, high-accuracy, standardized inventory of the Arbuckle network. This would allow Oak Hill to replace inconsistent legacy GIS data with a single, authoritative dataset, built for long\u2011term operations.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThis was a great opportunity to leverage the fact we\u2019ve already got a contractor and engineering firm visiting each manhole,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cIt adds two minutes at each manhole, but it saves days of work later on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The sanitary board already had a robust GIS workflow. Years of consistent use of apps like ArcGIS Field Maps and ArcGIS Survey123 meant that field crews were updating GIS data daily during routine fieldwork. Bragg in his capacity supports not just the sanitary board but also many municipal teams including police, fire, and parks and recreation.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt took years to get where we are, but now the information in the GIS is updated daily by the field technicians,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cEvery bit of the data we enhance in the system helps them when they get on-site for a reported issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

To further enhance the GIS, Bragg has also been using a high-accuracy Arrow Gold Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver from Eos Positioning Systems<\/a>. This helps him improve the location accuracy of certain infrastructure, such as critical sewer lines and underground taps. He connects the Arrow Gold receiver to the free, local West Virginia Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) network for real-time kinematic (RTK) corrections, which deliver sub-inch accuracy in the city. Luckily enough, there\u2019s even a CORS base station located right in town.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe are lucky and blessed to have not only a state CORS network, but also that in the city of Oak Hill we have a GNSS base station right here in town,\u201d Bragg said.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
In Eos Tools Pro, Bragg can monitor his location accuracy while the Arrow Gold and Arrow Gold+ receivers are connected to the West Virginia CORS network. In urban areas, the 2.2-centimeter horizontal accuracy seen here is normal.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
The West Virginia CORS network has a base station located in Oak Hill. Every manhole rehabilitated during this project fell within a radius of three miles from the base station in town.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
Seen here is the West Virginia CORS base station; note the antenna near the building\u2019s corner.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Because of staff\u2019s experience with enhancing the GIS regularly, the city knew what type of data it wanted. For each manhole, staff wanted a high-accuracy GNSS position; at least one photo of the manhole and another of the surrounding area; and standardized attributes such as lid type, depth, number of inverts, and rehabilitation actions. Arbuckle would have the perfect dataset\u2014making both the infrastructure and GIS future-proof.<\/p>\n\n

The Workflow: Putting Maps in the Inspector’s Hand<\/h2>\n\n

To ensure that any contractor could bid on the rehab project regardless of GIS or GNSS experience, Bragg equipped the winning engineering firm, The Thrasher Group, with city\u2011provided technology and training.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe determined that the engineering inspector was the one who would do the data collection,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cThe inspector would be looking at the completed manhole anyway, so we put a GPS and an iPad in his hand and asked him to take two extra minutes to collect our data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Bragg first created a full GIS replica of the legacy Arbuckle data so that the inspector wouldn\u2019t edit the city\u2019s live operational layers. This kept authoritative data protected while allowing new, high\u2011accuracy updates to be collected in ArcGIS Field Maps.<\/p>\n\n

To streamline data entry, Bragg built a simple, standardized form for ArcGIS Field Maps. Drop\u2011down menus, radio buttons, photo prompts, and other required inputs meant all incoming data would meet basic city standards.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Bragg standardized the information that the inspector needed to capture in ArcGIS Field Maps. Required attributes included at least two photos as well as specific information about the manhole and the rehabilitation work being performed.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
Standardized attributes about each manhole that were collected included its environmental conditions, material type, lid type, lid size, number of inverts, and depth in whole feet. From this ArcGIS Field Maps form, it is clear that manhole 83 is a concrete manhole in a grass environment with a steel, water-tight 26\u201d lid that has three inverts.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
Specific information about work performed during the project was captured as well, including when and by whom the manhole was located as well as any problems with it that would be addressed.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Ensuring High Accuracy in the West Virginia Woodlands<\/h3>\n\n

The city purchased a dedicated iPad and an Arrow Gold+ GNSS receiver<\/a>, both of which would be folded into staff\u2019s daily operations once the project ended. The Arrow Gold+ receiver connected to the West Virginia CORS network, and the proximity to the city\u2019s base station meant no manhole in the Arbuckle system was more than three miles from the antenna. Even under challenging canopy and in deep valleys, this greatly improved the accuracy to just a few feet in the worst areas.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhen you get down into a valley, you lose accuracy pretty quickly,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cBut with our proximity to the CORS network, it really did help with maintaining a higher level of accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Above left: As a construction crew from Green River Group, LLC, finished rehabilitating a manhole, inspector Billy Smutko from The Thrasher Group captured information about it for the GIS. He used ArcGIS Field Maps for data collection and the Arrow Gold+ GNSS receiver with the West Virginia CORS network for high location accuracy. <\/em>Above right: During summer 2025, interns Nicholas Kiser (in the orange shirt<\/em>) and Matthew Buckland (in the yellow shirt) assisted The Thrasher Group with manhole rehabilitation efforts.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

Meanwhile, Bragg used ArcGIS Dashboards to visualize construction status as data came in from the field. \u201cEffectively, we created a live as-built drawing,\u201d Bragg said.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
The Arbuckle Rehab Project Construction Tracker dashboard\u2014created using ArcGIS Dashboards\u2014enabled a live view into the work being done in the field.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
Beyond GIS improvements, the rehabilitation project drastically improved the physical condition of each manhole in the Arbuckle system.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
Left: This photo shows the interior of manhole\u00a073\u2014measuring 104\u00a0inches deep\u2014shortly after it received its new lining and just before the installation of its replacement lid. <\/em>Right: This manhole has just received its new sealed lid. Such physical improvements will help reduce the inflow and infiltration of nearby water into the sanitary system, thus reducing unnecessary volume.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

A Full Feature Swap and a Clean Slate<\/h3>\n\n

Once the project was completed, Bragg reviewed the new data, resolved anomalies, and performed a snapping operation on new underground lines from the updated manhole locations. He then performed a full GIS swap by archiving the old data and christening the newly collected data as the authoritative operational GIS for Arbuckle. \u201cIt\u2019s the clean slate we wanted,\u201d Bragg said.<\/p>\n\n

The Results: Accurate Data That Transforms Daily Operations<\/h2>\n\n

The Arbuckle Rehabilitation Project transformed the sanitary board\u2019s GIS. What had once been a dataset full of mismatched coordinates, missing attributes, and inconsistent documentation became a precise, standardized, and fully verified system.<\/p>\n\n

High-Accuracy Maps Across All of the System’s More than 630 Manholes<\/h3>\n\n

\u201cYou can see the difference between what they had in 2013 and what we have now,\u201d Hobbs said. \u201cThe Arrow Gold+ really narrowed things in. Nothing from previous records compares.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

As Bragg put it, \u201cEven two\u2011foot accuracy is better than 80-foot accuracy. If you get within two feet, you can find the manhole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Above: The Arbuckle system\u2019s manhole data has undergone a major accuracy upgrade. Manhole\u00a054B is a good example: This ArcGIS screenshot reveals the manhole\u2019s true position in the roadway, correcting an 80.30\u2011foot discrepancy from the old dataset that had mistakenly placed it as being down the road and in the vegetation.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

Standardized Data for Every Asset<\/h3>\n\n

Beyond location accuracy, there\u2019s now complete documentation for all structures. Each manhole now has standardized inside and outside photos, rehab notes, lid type, invert details, depths, and other essential attributes\u2014captured uniformly across the entire system.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat we had before were inaccurate locations and inconsistent photos and attributes,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cNow everything is standardized and accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n\n

Now, the sanitary board responds faster to GIS requests from third parties. \u201cThe Arrow Gold+ is already paying off,\u201d Hobbs said. \u201cWe can answer engineering and design requests with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The team expects field crews to spend less time searching for manholes and, as a result, be able to respond faster to incidents. The sealed lids will reduce I&I and associated costs.<\/p>\n\n

Though Bragg acknowledges that this project came with its own share of challenges\u2014ranging from figuring out how to set up the technology to communicating project information\u2014he believes the payoff is tangible.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNot everything is sunshine and roses, as anyone who\u2019s been part of a project knows,\u201d Bragg said. \u201cThere were growing pains and lessons learned. But we knew from the beginning that the headaches and heartaches were worth it. Now we\u2019re going to be that much more prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\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 for the field and office. Strengthen your organization with geospatial solutions that will increase efficiency and provide insight for decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n

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

Follow #EsriWater on social media:\u00a0X<\/a> |\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Subscribe to the Water Industry newsletter \u201cEsri News for Water Utilities and Water Resources<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n\n

Learn more about how GIS supports digital transformation.<\/strong><\/a><\/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":[5362],"tags":[451,3572,6523,6002,6525],"class_list":["post-582241","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wastewater","tag-arcgis","tag-gps","tag-infrastructure-management","tag-mobile-solutions","tag-sanitary-sewer","industry-wastewater"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Infrastructure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.\" \/>\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\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Manholes in Rural West Virginia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Industry Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ArcGIS-Dashboard.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1914\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"906\" \/>\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=\"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"13 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\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia\",\"name\":\"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Infrastructure\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Project-vs-Total-System-Graphic-1024x687.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-10T18:15:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Project-vs-Total-System-Graphic.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Project-vs-Total-System-Graphic.jpg\",\"width\":1138,\"height\":764},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Manholes in Rural West Virginia\"}]},{\"@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":"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Infrastructure","description":"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.","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\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Manholes in Rural West Virginia","og_description":"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia","og_site_name":"Industry Blogs","og_image":[{"width":1914,"height":906,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ArcGIS-Dashboard.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"13 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia","name":"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Infrastructure","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Project-vs-Total-System-Graphic-1024x687.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-10T18:15:00+00:00","description":"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used in rural West Virginia to update asset location, streamline operations, and enhance system management.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Project-vs-Total-System-Graphic.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Project-vs-Total-System-Graphic.jpg","width":1138,"height":764},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/mapping-over-630-manholes-in-rural-west-virginia#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From Hard to Find to Hard to Miss: Mapping Manholes in Rural West Virginia"}]},{"@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":"March 10, 2026","author_name":"Esri Water","author_page":false,"custom_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oak-Hill_Banner-1.jpg","primary_product":"Wastewater","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":3572,"name":"GPS","slug":"gps","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3572,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6523,"name":"Infrastructure Management","slug":"infrastructure-management","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6523,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6002,"name":"mobile solutions","slug":"mobile-solutions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6002,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6525,"name":"sanitary sewer","slug":"sanitary-sewer","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6525,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"}],"category_data":[{"term_id":5362,"name":"Wastewater","slug":"wastewater","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5362,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":1762,"count":13,"filter":"raw"}],"product_data":{"errors":{"invalid_taxonomy":["Invalid taxonomy."]},"error_data":[]},"primary_product_link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/industry\/wastewater","short_description":"ArcGIS and GNSS technology were used to improve asset location accuracy, streamline operations, and enhance future system management. ","image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Card_New-Sealed-Manhole-Lid.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/582241","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\/582241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}