Using data from a nearby Trimble NetR9™ GNSS base station and Trimble GPS Pathfinder Office software, Mehrens would process the Geo 6000 data within one hour of receiving it from the field. Typically the field crew could map about 200 features in an 8-hour day. After all feature data was collected, the mapper would move to the next set of objects and repeat the process. While the positioning data was being logged, the technician would also record critical attributes pertinent to the asset as well as environmental surroundings such as the presence of a curb and its type.
Once on site, one person would ready the Geo 6000, set the unit on each stormwater feature and record the point, while the other would drive to the next mapping section. He then created a customized data dictionary in the Geo 6000’s software, which would prompt the user to record objects’ unique attributes.Įach morning a two-person field crew would consult a combination of in-house aerial photos and paper maps to determine which area of the city they would survey. Each layer included its own set of critical attributes such as the size of a manhole’s cover, its depth and its width. After months of research, Mehrens developed a set of 13 unique stormwater data layers such as manholes, pipes and inlets. In January 2013, Kyle Mehrens, a GIS technician in the public works department, prepared for the field work scheduled for that spring. The handhelds would allow them to be highly mobile, efficiently collect centimeter-accuracy data and readily integrate the location data with their GIS system.
#Gps pathfinder office update 34191 95 series
Given the schedule, data requirements and safety elements, the City acquired two Trimble GeoExplorer® 6000 series GNSS handheld units. Resources were tight - the GIS department had a project team of two and just one year to achieve the goal. The objective of the $200,000 stormwater mapping project was to collect detailed, spatial-based data that could inform business decisions and be readily integrated into operations. And the new data-driven framework has enabled the city to transform stormwater from obscurity to a $1.2-million utility. It has also created a detailed knowledge base to readily understand the "what and where" of any given asset at any time.
Nearly two years later, Bozeman’s GIS department has not only inventoried and mapped 95 percent of its entire stormwater network. As serious as the infringement was, it also helped launch a long overdue mapping project in 2012 that would bring the underground workhorse to light. That all changed when the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) audited the department and determined that the lack of a comprehensive stormwater system map was a violation of its federally-issued MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) permit. Although the city of Bozeman, Montana’s stormwater system has been silently producing front-page news for decades, it has typically only flowed into the spotlight because of an incident or an emergency.