Land Surveying & Geographic Information System Services
To perform our day-to-day functions we have full time survey crews and CAD draftsmen as well as a GIS specialist to assist the city engineer and city surveyor in flood plane management, street and driveway permitting and monitoring engineering and construction projects throughout the city.
We store and file all construction plans done in the city, perform topographic surveys and boundary surveys as well as provide technical information for large scale drainage studies. From assisting the legal department with complex land transactions, drawing architectural building plans to setting elevations for cross drains, we are involved in every aspect of the engineering field.
Land Surveying and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are acutely intertwined. Ground locations of infrastructure and land parcels are surveyed using GPS / Satellite Positioning or conventional surveying methods which are mapped directly into the GIS.
We are currently working on several GIS projects as well as maintaining the existing database and base map. The following are a few examples:
Subdivision / Parcel mapping: In 1989, the surveying department began a survey network throughout the city establishing USGS control (Latitude and Longitude) of subdivision boundaries. Using celestial observations of the sun to establish true bearings and ties to USGS survey points we mapped approximately forty percent of the subdivisions by the time we received our first high definition aerial photographs of the city in 1995. These aerial photos were also controlled by latitude and longitude and overlaid with our subdivision mapping. Using the aerial photographs for control after that point, we have finished and are maintaining the subdivision base mapping. The subdivision base maps show all city easements, rights-of-way, revocations, and lot lines. As new subdivisions come into the city, we enter that new information into the base maps, as you can see the GIS is always growing. New aerial photographs and digital orthophotographs are now being considered and we hope to have them flown the spring of 2006.
City Limits: Each boundary line of the 116 mile city limits has been researched and mapped into a base map. From this map, a legal description is written with bearings and distances and is on file at the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court. This document at present is 17 pages on "legal" length paper with 1,292 lines of single spaced text. This map and document is also updated after every new city annexation.
City Owned and Adjudicated Properties: This is a GIS map and database of all city owned properties with all conveyance information. The size and shape of each tract are depicted and are all categorized as fee simple ownership, right-of-way, easement, or adjudicated from non payment of taxes. The adjudicated properties are sorted by year of adjudication to reflect the three year mark when the city can file for full ownership.
Fire Hydrant Study: There are approximately 2,600 fire hydrants in the city. As we are locating each hydrant with GPS satellite equipment and mapping their locations on the base maps, the fire department is performing flow tests and creating a database on each numbered fire hydrant. When both sets of information are complete, we can join them together to create a map that shows the fire hydrant locations and by simply selecting a fire hydrant, all of the flow test results, maintenance history and water main size are displayed.
Street Address Database: The street address program involves creating a geographic location and database for each structure in the city. This enables a direct geographic link to all city databases that use street addresses such as water and sewer billing, repair and maintenance records and most importantly emergency response. With a simple query, the location of an address is automatically displayed enabling the fire and police to route emergency vehicles or coordinate evacuations.
These are just a few of the projects the GIS and Land Surveying division are actively working on. We are in the process of networking all of the GIS base maps and database information city wide to all departments where they can build their own unique information onto the base maps, hopefully streamlining information exchange between both the public and individual departments.
Emergency Response Floor Plans: One critical aspect of emergency response is the layout of buildings and facilities. Digital floor plan drawings have been drawn for every school, hotel, motel and government building in the city. These can be hyperlinked in the GIS so when selected from the building footprint on the map these floor plans will appear enabling fire and law enforcement to plan entrance and evacuation of the buildings.
These are just a few of the projects the GIS and Land Surveying division are actively working on. We are in the process of networking all of the GIS base maps and database information city wide to all departments where they can build their own unique information onto the base maps, hopefully streamlining information exchange between both the public and individual departments. We also have plans to create a web-based GIS giving the general public access to many of the GIS functions.
Land Surveying and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are acutely intertwined. Ground locations of infrastructure and land parcels are surveyed using GPS / Satellite Positioning or conventional surveying methods which are mapped directly into the GIS.
We are currently working on several GIS projects as well as maintaining the existing database and base map. The following are a few examples:
Subdivision / Parcel mapping: In 1989, the surveying department began a survey network throughout the city establishing USGS control (Latitude and Longitude) of subdivision boundaries. Using celestial observations of the sun to establish true bearings and ties to USGS survey points we mapped approximately forty percent of the subdivisions by the time we received our first high definition aerial photographs of the city in 1995. These aerial photos were also controlled by latitude and longitude and overlaid with our subdivision mapping. Using the aerial photographs for control after that point, we have finished and are maintaining the subdivision base mapping. The subdivision base maps show all city easements, rights-of-way, revocations, and lot lines. As new subdivisions come into the city, we enter that new information into the base maps, as you can see the GIS is always growing. New aerial photographs and digital orthophotographs are now being considered and we hope to have them flown the spring of 2006.
City Limits: Each boundary line of the 116 mile city limits has been researched and mapped into a base map. From this map, a legal description is written with bearings and distances and is on file at the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court. This document at present is 17 pages on "legal" length paper with 1,292 lines of single spaced text. This map and document is also updated after every new city annexation.
City Owned and Adjudicated Properties: This is a GIS map and database of all city owned properties with all conveyance information. The size and shape of each tract are depicted and are all categorized as fee simple ownership, right-of-way, easement, or adjudicated from non payment of taxes. The adjudicated properties are sorted by year of adjudication to reflect the three year mark when the city can file for full ownership.
Fire Hydrant Study: There are approximately 2,600 fire hydrants in the city. As we are locating each hydrant with GPS satellite equipment and mapping their locations on the base maps, the fire department is performing flow tests and creating a database on each numbered fire hydrant. When both sets of information are complete, we can join them together to create a map that shows the fire hydrant locations and by simply selecting a fire hydrant, all of the flow test results, maintenance history and water main size are displayed.
Street Address Database: The street address program involves creating a geographic location and database for each structure in the city. This enables a direct geographic link to all city databases that use street addresses such as water and sewer billing, repair and maintenance records and most importantly emergency response. With a simple query, the location of an address is automatically displayed enabling the fire and police to route emergency vehicles or coordinate evacuations.
These are just a few of the projects the GIS and Land Surveying division are actively working on. We are in the process of networking all of the GIS base maps and database information city wide to all departments where they can build their own unique information onto the base maps, hopefully streamlining information exchange between both the public and individual departments.
Emergency Response Floor Plans: One critical aspect of emergency response is the layout of buildings and facilities. Digital floor plan drawings have been drawn for every school, hotel, motel and government building in the city. These can be hyperlinked in the GIS so when selected from the building footprint on the map these floor plans will appear enabling fire and law enforcement to plan entrance and evacuation of the buildings.
These are just a few of the projects the GIS and Land Surveying division are actively working on. We are in the process of networking all of the GIS base maps and database information city wide to all departments where they can build their own unique information onto the base maps, hopefully streamlining information exchange between both the public and individual departments. We also have plans to create a web-based GIS giving the general public access to many of the GIS functions.
