"The new system of local government will ultimately have big benefits for South Africa but the process of amalgamation has posed challenges regarding the availability of accurate, up-to-date network information." This is the view of Chris Tolken, MD of MunSys Technologies.

"A council's area of responsibility has always been defined by boundaries but because water and sewer networks cross boundaries, maintenance and management complications can result," he says. "Municipal areas are much bigger now so there is even more information to deal with. This is why the optimal route for municipalities is to have accurate information available in digital form. Readily available network data is important both for the water department's own maintenance and management purposes, and for use by other departments who need to know exactly where pipes are in the ground."

As most municipal departments are aware, a problem with water networks tends to be the lack of availability of digital data. This has been exacerbated by the recent changes in local government involving the amalgamation of different councils in various regions making these requirements even larger than before.

Easy data capture faster than before

The Water Management System (WMS) from MunSys was developed specifically for the capture and maintenance of water networks. Based on AutoCAD Map and utilising Oracle's enterprise database technology for open systems, all the MunSys packages incorporate a database design with the municipal business rules governing each discipline (electrical, roads, water, sewerage and cadastral) already built in. This means that the daunting task of water network data capture can be done faster, more easily and with greater confidence than with traditional approaches. Data is also stored centrally in one database, with no need to duplicate information for other departments.

Automatically maintains network integrity

With WMS all the required connectivity is generated as the network data is being captured or modified. WMS also caters for the capture and maintenance of water pressure and tower zones and various tools are available for cleaning pipe intersections during capture, as well as indicating which pipes are crossing over each other.

Easy-to-print map books handy for field use

Of particular importance for water network management is the facility to regularly print out updated network map books directly from the system for use by maintenance teams and technicians in the field.

Total solution for local government

MunSys provides a total solution for all municipal spatial applications. The system currently comprises six fully integrated packages including cadastral, electricity, roads, sewer, water as well as an Internet/intranet data distribution and reporting system.

MunSys Technologies

(011) 781 1224

ctolken@munsys.co.za

www.munsys.co.za