ArcGIS Enterprise Supports the City of Laramie, Wyoming’s GIS Expansion

Wyoming, a state in the western United States, is characterized by its sparse population and abundance of unique, rugged beauty. For those seeking a less cultivated experience of the American West, Wyoming offers glimpses of the legendary “Wild West” era. The City of Laramie, also known as the “Gem City,” holds the distinction of being Wyoming’s fourth largest city. Laramie is home to the University of Wyoming and serves as a gateway to many of the state’s natural treasures.

The City of Laramie has been a long-time user of geographic information system (GIS) technology. Historically, city staff used an older, seldom-used version of ArcGIS Enterprise connected to only a small number of users. But according to Kyle Jordan, senior GIS technician for the City of Laramie, that usage needed to expand.

“We were switching to ArcGIS Utility Network, so we needed ArcGIS Enterprise to be up-to-date, fully functional, and able to handle a larger number of users,” Jordan explained.

The city also wanted to transition its use of ArcGIS Online to public-facing processes only and move internal GIS work to a full ArcGIS Enterprise suite with new servers. “We share our licensing with Albany County, so we wanted to limit access to information that needs to stay internal,” said Jordan. 

The city utilized GIS consultancy and Esri partner Argis Solutions, Inc. to achieve its modernization goals. Argis Solutions consultants suggested the following tools for enterprise implementation: ArcGIS Enterprise, including the  ArcGIS Server, Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Web Adaptor, ArcGIS Data Store components, ArcGIS Utility Network, and Microsoft SQL Server configured as an enterprise geodatabase. A significant amount of data needed to be moved into the new system, totaling fifteen databases and over 100 gigabytes.

Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) was used for login to Portal for ArcGIS Enterprise portal. Moving everything locally to Enterprise portal and giving users single sign-on (SSO) capabilities for logging in meant only one password was needed instead of two.

The city also chose to use ArcGIS Monitor to track and monitor the status of its entire GIS system. Via a dashboard, ArcGIS Monitor alerts the city to issues with servers, databases, and web services. This is a valuable tool for the city because almost 800 individual items are provided to users via Enterprise portal.

With the implementation of the new Enterprise system, the city has successfully integrated ArcGIS Field Maps into its Public Works, Engineering, and Fire departments. City employees plan to expand ArcGIS Field Maps usage into the Parks Department in the near future.

“The ArcGIS Solutions were the hook that got these departments using Field Maps,” said Jordan. “With Field Maps, [city staff] now have a map reference that is dynamic and more easily accessible across departments than the paper maps that were previously in use.”

The city currently uses ArcGIS Solutions, including the Lead Service Line Inventory, Sewer Utility Network Foundation, Water Utility Network Foundation, Stormwater Utility Network Foundation, and the Fire Hydrant Inspections solutions.

The Public Works Water Utilities department started its use of ArcGIS Field Maps with the Lead Service Line Inventory solution. When that project wrapped up, department team members continued to use the solution for additional data collection, including meter replacements. When a meter is replaced, staff take pictures to document and ensure the data is updated in Field Maps. If team members visit a home that doesn’t require a visual inspection to meet the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency’s) revised Lead and Copper Rule requirements, they still complete the lead service line inventory inspection, so they have a documented visual inspection rather than an “as-built” inspection record.

“The Lead Service Line solution got all the water utilities [employees] using tablets and GIS. They absolutely love it, and they don’t want to go back to not using GIS,” said Jordan. “It was the best onboarding program I probably could have asked for. It was so easy for them to use, and it took no effort for them to document their work. The sewer and stormwater solutions enabled everyone’s use of the same dataset. Department [staff] can look at their own data or other department’s data and clarify information.”

Previously, the city’s Fire Department’s fire hydrant inspections involved clicking a “yes” button, indicating the inspection was completed. Implementing the Fire Hydrant Inspections solution allows additional inspection information to be captured, including documenting water pressure. This provides substantially more detail for the inspection record.

The first wave of implementation has tripled the number of GIS users within the city, according to Jordan.

“The best thing about this move to ArcGIS Enterprise is that we have far more users,” said Jordan. “It’s built trust around the GIS department managing departmental data and opened departments up to sharing their data with others. It’s made it easier to communicate, and we are experiencing less problems with conflicting information.”

A modernized GIS infrastructure and ArcGIS Field Maps also poises the City of Laramie for future use of Argis Solutions’ augmented reality mobile application, Z-Focus. Z-Focus extends ArcGIS Field Maps with augmented reality capabilities. The city is exploring use of Z-Focus within its Public Works and Engineering departments for general situational awareness of hidden infrastructure and asset management.

“Our Engineering department thinks it might help them conceptualize designs and easily see where conflicts with systems are or where items in the ground are located,” said Jordan. “Our Public Works department is interested in its use for 811 locating calls. A 2D map doesn’t always give you the visual you need. It’s faster and easier to see things in augmented reality.”