Geographic Information System (GIS)

Maps have been in existence for centuries. Viewing an entire country on a single piece of paper is still fascinating. Although taking a physical feature or an object and drawing it on a map would have been easy for Picasso or Da Vinci, it may be a bit of a challenge for us amateur artists.

Does the idea of a map communicating with you, following your instructions, responding to you (in the form of results), and constantly adapting itself to your needs sound like science fiction? Today, GIS has the power to not only give us the ability to create maps with ease, it also gives our inner artist a chance to make them beautiful.

Visualize the components that make up a city’s infrastructure – different types of buildings, roads, storm/sanitary sewer networks, water distribution systems, gas lines, electric cables, phone lines, etc. Now imagine a single interface including all of these components, as opposed to one map for each. The strongest feature of GIS is to combine features with various attributes, and harmoniously link them together in a single database which could be filtered, sorted, or queried in every way imaginable. With the constant evolution of technology, there is no limit to the possibilities of GIS applications in agriculture, engineering, marketing, or even medicine.

Our Scope

Spalding DeDecker has had its share of taking snapshots of history. With the constant change in everyday landscape, we can quickly update the maps to current conditions. Part of our success lies in effectively communicating our complex engineering studies to our clients and the public through the use of GIS maps.

Core strengths in the GIS market:

  • LOMR/LOMA/CLOMRs
  • Levee Design and Analysis
  • Two-Dimensional Flow Modeling
  • Hydrologic Analysis and Watershed Modeling
  • Transportation Planning
  • Database Creation and Maintenance
  • Traffic Studies/Access Management
  • Landscape Master Planning
  • Recreational and Park Planning
  • Project Engineering and Inspection
  • Water Main/Sanitary Sewer/Storm Sewer Design and Management
  • Streetscape and Urban Improvement Planning
  • Surveying

How does the community benefit from GIS analysis?

To the general public, a bridge or road design plan may only be a piece of paper with some lines and numbers. What matters to them is how this bridge is going to shorten their commute or how a road expansion will reduce traffic while dropping their children off at school. GIS can show existing routes verses future routes or existing traffic verses future traffic based upon proposed improvements.

We may spend months on a complex hydrologic and hydraulic analysis and compute the appropriate water levels in a stream. But the general public is looking for a simple answer to their question, “Will this improvement alleviate the flooding?” A simple GIS map may help the community understand the complexity of the problem, along with the effectiveness of our solution.