The Use of Mobile Devices for the Location, Inventory and Condition Assessment of Collection Systems

DeKalb County, Georgia is currently developing a Capacity Management, Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) program for its sewer system. A cornerstone of the program is to develop geographical information system (GIS) mapping showing the location of all manholes, gravity sewer lines, force mains, valves and wastewater treatment facilities. The authors describe an innovative approach involving the use of a mobile app and tablets to help manhole inspection crews to locate sewer manholes and make a comprehensive inventory and survey of all manhole assets using electronic manhole inspection forms. In addition the manhole inspection crews document the manhole condition, and take digital photos using their tablets. Through synchronization of the tablets, all data is stored in servers in the Cloud. A geo-database is then developed and refined to produce comprehensive GIS mapping of the sewer system, serving as a cornerstone for utility management.