Method proposal for the management of geographic information in water and sewer companies

Abstract

Geographic information has been used in water and sewage companies and currently has worldwide application, in rich and poor countries, from basic actions such as georeferencing points of interest to cross-referencing complex Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Spatial Data Infrastructures systems together with other public services. But has the creation, use and management of this information been carried out successfully harnessed? Considering the constant changes occurred in Information Technology, in the demography of urban areas, in water and sewage systems and in corporate management, we propose a new method for implementing and support Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for water and sewage services in metropolitan areas. The methodology was based mainly on international GIS and/or Project Management standards and propositions in the academic literature including applications, challenges and the role of different stakeholders. The objective was to gather much information and pathways in simplified models to facilitate operators and decision makers in water industry for an overview about what to be considered in a corporate and public GIS. Based on two models, it is possible to elaborate requirements related to the use and management of GIS and guide actions and decisions for their development, considering the organizational management of companies and the regional context in which they operate.