North Park Water Boosts Accuracy and Efficiency with GPS System Survey and ArcGIS Integration

Introduction

North Park Water (NPW), a mid-size utility serving more than 35,000 residents in northern Illinois, faced a common yet critical challenge: outdated and inaccurate maps of its underground infrastructure. To improve service reliability, safety, and efficiency, NPW launched a four-year GPS System Survey to rebuild its GIS from the ground up. Partnering with Cloudpoint Geospatial for field expertise and Seiler Geospatial for Trimble GNSS technology, the district collected high-accuracy GPS locations for hydrants, valves, and fittings, and seamlessly integrated that data into Esri's ArcGIS platform. The result was a modern, trusted geospatial foundation that now supports daily operations, emergency response, and long-term asset management.

The Challenge

North Park Water inherited a GIS plagued with inconsistencies, especially for underground infrastructure such as valves, fittings, and water mains. Some assets were mapped several feet from their actual locations, creating major headaches in the field. For crews, this meant wasted time during emergency shutoffs, difficulty performing JULIE (call-before-you-dig) locates, and unnecessary digging to find critical assets. For customers, it translated into slower service, longer outages, and more disruption during repairs.

Beyond the technical issues, the greater challenge was organizational: staff had little confidence in the maps, and data silos prevented updates from flowing consistently between departments. Manual corrections had been made for years, but without accurate GPS data or modern field workflows, the utility lacked a long-term solution. With a Cityworks asset management

rollout on the horizon, NPW knew it needed to rebuild its GIS foundation, restoring both accuracy and trust in the data to support daily operations and future planning.

The Partner

North Park Water leadership and the Board of Trustees provided critical funding and long-term support. NPW turned to Cloudpoint Geospatial for their technical expertise and field efficiency, and to Seiler Geospatial for the GNSS hardware and software that would power the project. The utility also worked closely with WinGIS, a regional GIS consortium, to host and manage the data environment. Internally, GIS Coordinator Preston McDonald and field crews prepared the way by pre-marking valve and fitting locations, which accelerated field collection and improved quality control.

The Solution

The GPS System Survey was divided into four annual geographic phases. Using Trimble R2 GNSS receivers and Catalyst + DA2 units supplied by Seiler Geospatial, Cloudpoint collected high-accuracy GPS coordinates for hydrants, valves, fittings, and junctions. NPW took the extra step of estimating buried fitting locations based on as-built records and field knowledge, marking them so Cloudpoint could capture the coordinates—even when assets weren’t visible. This enabled precise re-digitization of the water main network, anchored by known asset points. Hosted in the WinGIS enterprise geodatabase, the data was published as a feature service to ArcGIS Online. Through an Esri Collaboration Group, Cloudpoint accessed NPW’s web maps in ArcGIS Field Maps, streaming real-time updates back to NPW. This live connection enabled staff to monitor progress, perform QA/QC, and see the project's value as it unfolded.

The Results

• Centimeter-grade accuracy across the water distribution system

• Faster field operations with less digging and disruption

• More accurate JULIE locates and safer utility marking

• Restored staff trust in GIS as a daily operational tool

• Improved data sharing through WinGIS consortium partners

• Stronger asset management integration with Cityworks

Completion Map

Before and After of Watermain Realignment

"The GPS System Survey didn’t just fix our data—it restored our staff’s confidence in GIS. Crews can now find assets faster, JULIE locates are more accurate, and our entire organization benefits from better information every day."

— Tara DeRosa, Chief Information Officer, North Park Water