A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR WATER UTILITY NETWORK (A CASE STUDY OF NANYUKI MUNICIPALIY)

Abstract

This project details the implementation of a Geographical Information system in water service provider companies to increase efficiency in the management and maintenance of the water utility network by providing information that can be used by the technical guys in their daily routines and carrying out simple tasks like repairing and locating ineffective part of the network. The need arise as the water network in Nanyuki have not been mapped they still rely on the memory of their staffs in managing their assets and with the amount of information those water service providers deal with need a good information system to handle it. This is to ensure that good monitoring of water network and improvement of supply which has been a challenge has been achieved. Embracing the GIS technology is the solution to most of the problems faced by utility companies from data collection to field-workforce. The objective of the project is to generate a desktop geographical Information system that can be applicable by any water service provider (WSP) day-in day-out. The methodology adopted in this project is that of a stand-alone geographic information system that involved establishment of a local geodatabase and mapping the water utility network of a pilot area that is followed by creation of geometric network dataset and various analysis. The methodology adopted resulted to mapping of most of the water utility network integrated with the customers’ information which would face-out the reliance of staffs’ memory who might not stick in the company for long. The project provided information that could be used by maintenance crew during repair like the shortest route maps, upstream and downstream analysis map to help determine which valve to close during repair and from which main valve does a certain customer benefit from, and map showing critical components within the network just to name a few.