Geospatial Mapping of the Coastal Communities of Alabama
40 Auburn University Students Collect Infrastructure Facilities Data in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, &
Dauphin Island during Jan.-July 2010Project Duration: 2009-2011
Presentation to Campus Technology, 7/20/2010
EDA Grant #: G004824
Problem Statement Hurricane storm surge
and wash of sand and debris inland frustrates clean-up effort
Heavy Equipment damages fixtures covered by debris and sand
$9 billion spent by federal government in mitigation efforts since 1998
50% or more of the damage inflicted on critical utilities during the clean-up effort
Current Condition
Each utility company has print or electronic maps in different formats
Little coordination during clean-up effort
No information sharing system in place to deliver plans to clean-up personnel
AU-EDA Project Goals
Problem Benchmark / GoalThere is no regional model of infrastructure data sharing among multiple partners in coastal regions.
•Identify issues related to data storage, sharing, and security
•Sign MOAs with cities & utilities
Critical community infrastructure data needs to be collected, stored and backed up as new buildings, roads, and utilities are installed.
• Collect & store infrastructure data from multiple partners in the Alabama coastal community
• Upload data to Virtual Alabama
During a disaster, ad-hoc facilities and practices often bypass physical and access controls used under normal operations.
•Identify members of recovery team
• Retrieve stored data effectively
•Train members of the recovery team on effective use of the GIS data
• Mark infrastructure elements right after a disaster
Scope of Project: Alabama Coastal Area
Project Team: Two year project
David Mixson, Walker Jackson P.K. Raju
Chetan S Sankar, Amit Mitra, Luke Marzen
Barry CumbieSteve Henderson, Diane Brown
Training Provided to Students Prior to Being Deployed at Site
• Student workers were provided hands on training from team leaders on how to use the Topcon-GMS2 units
• Student workers were provided instruction manuals on the units to reference while working in their groups of two.
• Lastly, student workers were provided an icons list, so they could easily identify infrastructure elements while working on site.
Data Collection at Gulf Shores During Week One (Feb. 19-21)
Team leaders: Darrell Rigsby and Satish Kuchi
Student Workers: (Team 3) Sarah Tway, Mark Stevenson, John Neubauer, Grant Martin
and Tim Ledlow
(Team 5) Andy Dyer, David Rose, Michael Porter and John Davenport
Data Points Collected:
605
Walking Miles Covered:
4
Data Collection during Week Two (Feb. 26-28) at Gulf Shores
Team leaders: Darrell Rigsby, Satish Kuchi and Kati Jones
Student workers:(Team1) Kanesha Belyue, Caitlin Duff, Carter Rice and Alex
Johnson
(Team 4) Tyler Gibson, Grant Moore, Lauren McManus and Sara Yousey
(Team 6) Milaika Pickard, Drew Turner, Eric Hirstein and Satish Kutchi
Data Points Collected:
1592
Walking Miles Covered:
9.16
Date Data Points Collected
Walking Miles
March 5–7 1950 10.5
March 26-28 1692 9
April 10-11 1914 11.02
April 16-18 1355 9.85
April 23-25 412 13.4
June 4-6 1041 11.06
June 12-13 1100 10
Total 11,661 88
Similarly…….
Data Collected So far in the Project
Data Points Collected:11,661 Walking Miles : 88 Total Manhours:540
Example of Collected DataLegend
!( Cable Pedestal
") Cable Box / Fiber Optic Box
XW Fiber Cable Misc
#* Cable / Fiber Test Box
GF Communications Manhole
!( Electric Power Pole
!. Electric Power Pole w/ Light
!5 Electric Light Pole
#* Electric Meter
") Electric Transformer
XW Electric Misc
#* Gas Valve
") Gas Meter
$+ Gas High Pressure Assembly
GF Gas Regulator
!( Sewer Manhole
") Sewer Pumping / Lift Station
GF Sewer Lateral
XW Sewer Misc
") Storm Water Grate Inlet
#* Storm Water Curb Inlet
!( Storm Water Yard Inlet
XW Storm Water Misc
") Phone Switching Station / Cabinet
!( Phone Pedestal
XW Phone Misc
GF Fire Hydrant
") Water Meter
#* Water Shutoff Valve
!( Backflow Preventer
GF Fire Department Connection
XW Water Misc
Streets and Parcels
Parcels
Future PlansData Collection in Bayou La
Batre, Dauphin IslandUpload data to Virtual AlabamaProvide data to city & utilitiesDevelop Recovery StrategiesDevelop training materialsTrain appropriate personnel on
use of GMS-2 units & retrieve data
Benefits: Student LearningStudents get to work with GIS
technologiesGive back to communityLearn ArcGIS and other
technologiesImprove communication skills Improve team working skillsEnhance leadership skillsStudents stated that they
understood goals and learned significantly
Heightened awareness of financial crisis that hurricanes can cause a community
Good Experience:◦Being responsible for a real world
project◦Using technical devices
Topcon GIS Unit Laser Unit
◦Learning to communicate as a team
Student Project Impressions
Student Project Impressions
Team members had a favorable impression of the experience
Team working skills improvedTeam members proud that our
work can be used to help the economy of coastal Alabama
Benefits: Advance Productivity, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship
40% of reconstruction costs can be eliminated if geospatial data are available on-line
Time to recover from damage is expected to be halved due to the availability of these data
Will make economic impact of this project very attractive
The concept of geospatial mapping of a coastal area is innovative;
Project team members learn to apply theories learned in class to solve a practical problem
Campus TechnologyHome PageCampus Technology Innovators
Questions & Contacts
• Chetan S. Sankar, Principal Investigator, [email protected], 334 844 6504• David Mixson, ATAC, Co-PI, [email protected], 334 844 3887• Amit Mitra, Assoc. Dean, Co-PI, [email protected], 334 844 4833• P.K. Raju, Co-PI, [email protected], 334 844 3301• Barry Cumbie, Senior Investigator, [email protected], 601-266-4648• Steve Henderson, GIS Coordinator, Gulf Shores, [email protected],
(251) 968-1179• Luke Marzen, Senior Invesigator, [email protected], (334) 844 3462