Survey team to map Goldsboro sewer system
By Barbara Arntsen
Published in News on January 13, 2005 2:01 PM
A survey team has hit the streets of Goldsboro as part of a project designed to use technology to plot and maintain the city's sewer system.
The city council voted in November to spend $323,450 to create a map of Goldsboro's sewer system that would use global positioning satellites, or GPS. GPS is a constellation of satellites, developed and maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense.
City Engineer Terry Gallimore said that the survey process begun by W.K. Dickson, the firm hired to complete the project, would provide the information for the future satellite network.
Gallimore said that by the time the project is finished in September, the city will have an accurate location of all manholes. In addition, he said, the city would know the size of the pipes in the system.
"We know we have 5,400 manholes, but we'll probably discover a few more during this process," he said. "We've got maps of the sewer system that shows the general location, but this will pinpoint everything exactly."
He said the new system would help the city respond faster to breaks in the sewer line.
"When we have a problem now, we have to go out in the field to get the exact location or use construction drawings," he said. "And sometimes there aren't construction drawings available."
The move toward a GPS system is something the council has been considering for some time.
At the council's retreat last year, David Pond, a consultant with WK Dickson, said GPS was used for computer mapping systems because it didn't require a direct line of sight along the earth's surface to get accurate results.
The mapping will also fulfill state and federal requirements. "You have a collection system permit, so you must have a detailed map of the entire system," Pond said. "The permit requires it."
Money to finance the project will come from the city's bond sale, which is slated to take place in March. In November the council agreed to borrow the $323,450 from the utility fund balance until the bond sale.