GIS Strategic Planning: Creating a Viable GIS Master Plan for the Top Water District in California

Contra Costa Water District (CCWD)

The Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) located in Concord, California, provides water for approx. 500,000 individuals in the central and eastern areas of Contra Costa County. Founded in 1936, The District was created to provide irrigation water to serve local industries. In 2020, they are a leader in drinking-water treatment technology and one of the largest water districts in California.

In 2006, The District was aware of the potential ROI that a more robust GIS would provide and created a GIS Master Plan to begin putting GIS to work for The District. By 2009, The District completed the major recommendations associated with the 2006 plan, including hiring a GIS Analyst, GIS hardware and software implementation, and GIS data creation and conversion, along with training. In 2018, The District realized a need for an updated GIS strategic plan, as the internal demand on the enterprise GIS had grown to support a myriad of District department needs involving data creation and management, enterprise geodatabases, GIS software support, and web mapping applications. By this time, having The District’s sole GIS Analyst manage all aspects of the GIS while continuing to strive to maximize ROI by scaling the GIS program, was no longer a long-term viable plan.

To assist The District with strategically aligning the GIS program with current District needs and goals, Geographic Technologies Group (GTG) was retained to provide a successful, detailed, innovative and sustainable five-year Enterprise GIS Master Plan for the District. The goal was to develop an enterprise-wide, scalable, and enduring GIS program, which effectively and efficiently meets District Staff and other stakeholder’s needs.

GIS technology implemented to meet business needs facilitates data-driven decision-making, playing a key role in strategic service management and tactical service delivery. At Contra Costa Water District, GIS is an integral component of computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), enterprise asset management systems (EAM), and an array of other information technology (IT) systems used throughout The District. A sustainable enterprise GIS initiative requires a considerable amount of discovery and deliberation. A documented assessment of existing conditions is a logical first step, as it allows for informed decision-making regarding the needs of each operating unit and the organization as a whole.

Through this initial assessment process, GTG identified further opportunities. While there was a wealth of GIS data at the District, the enterprise GIS database was integrated with only one other system. Furthermore, although the District obtained an Enterprise Agreement with Esri, only eight desktop licenses were in use. These conditions were limiting innovation and the GIS Program’s ability to fully realize potential benefits and support the District’s mission and strategic goals.

contra costa water district The District’s GIS Master Plan project was comprised of the following six steps:

Step 1: Online Questionnaire and Voice of the Customer Survey
Step 2: Kick-Off Meeting, Technology Seminar, Departmental Interviews, and Needs Assessments
Step 3: IT and GIS Infrastructure Review and Assessment
Step 4: GIS Governance, Staff Training, Education, and Knowledge Transfer Plan
Step 5: Five-Year Strategic Implementation Plan
Step 6: Final GIS Master Plan and Presentation to Stakeholders

A Voice of the Customer Survey was administered online with the purpose of painting a clear picture of the current state of The District’s GIS initiative through the point-of-view of internal GIS users and stakeholders. Ratings and comments were gathered on GIS needs, limitations, and opportunities, and the results were used to inform the GIS Needs Assessment.

As part of the project kick-off, a Technology Seminar was presented to key staff members to provide an overview of GIS, its capabilities, available products and programs, and potential key initiatives. While GTG was on-site with District staff, staff interviews were conducted to create a comprehensive look at the current state of GIS to build on for a detailed GIS Needs Assessment.

The IT and GIS Infrastructure Review and Assessment step analyzed existing IT infrastructure for its ability to reliably support performant GIS applications and solutions. GTG provided industry best practice recommendations and a conceptual system design to meet The Districts current and five-year system needs. Analysis included considerations for peak load placed on the system’s servers and databases by GIS users, web GIS solutions, and field staff.

GTG’s GIS experts also developed GIS Governance and Training, Education, and Knowledge Transfer plans specifically tailored to the needs of the District. Jason Marshall, GTG’s Director of GIS Consulting states, “A formal governance model is a critical component of all successful enterprise GIS programs. If you can get the people component right, it ensures a GIS program’s procedures are efficient and implemented solutions are sustainable. The District recognized this need as a key part of the project and subsequently adopted a governance model before the project was completed.”

The GIS Strategic Implementation Plan was the capstone of the project. It defined the necessary tasks and five-year schedule for the District to implement recommendations outlined in the GIS Master Plan. The provided five-year annual budget assessment will also allow District staff to procure needed funds for the implementation. Using this five-year, phased tactical plan, The District will implement cost-effective GIS solutions that will allow it to further scale its GIS program in an enterprise-wide fashion and maximize return on investment of its GIS.

The District is currently planning to pursue the three mission critical priority projects identified in the GIS Master Plan. It is clear that staff throughout the Contra Costa Water District see the value in continuing to utilize GIS technology to conduct day-to-day operations. GIS use in public utilities is going to become more pervasive and has become the de-facto system for managing and analyzing all data in public utility organizations — both spatial and non-spatial. The District will reap benefits from its former and future investments in GIS as the use of geospatial technology at the District increases.