Wastewater systems management is a challenge all too familiar to facilities managers.
But a new tool has been introduced to alleviate the stress of maintaining sanitary and storm sewer lines by allowing you to visualize this critical subsurface infrastructure from anywhere 24/7.
It’s GPRS’ new SiteMap® Sewer Layer.
While accurately locating and managing underground sewer infrastructure traditionally required a lot of guesswork around incomplete, outdated sanitary or storm sewer as-builts, and expensive, time-consuming, and wasteful potholing to try to locate the source of breaks, blockages, and/or overflows, SiteMap Sewer Layer offers facilities and municipal managers precise, accessible, and actionable sewer mapping data.
This innovation enhances everything from daily operational efficiency to risk mitigation and long-term asset maintenance planning by providing a centralized, single source of truth for sewer systems.
Detailed pipe conditions, catalogued to NASSCO standards, include numerous pipe features, flow direction, depth, and video of each pipe segment.
What is SiteMap Sewer Layer?
The SiteMap Sewer Layer incorporates data gathered using GPRS’ cutting-edge video pipe inspection (VPI) tools, such as CCTV robotic crawlers and lateral launch push cameras. When combined with utility locating technologies – including ground penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic (EM) locators, tracer wires, and sondes – these systems deliver high-resolution visuals and video, supporting thorough condition evaluations and accurate mapping of sewer infrastructure, including mains, laterals, and manholes. This information is then uploaded to the SiteMap® platform (patent pending), where it can be accessed, analyzed, and shared in real time with project teams, subcontractors, and stakeholders.
Facilities & Municipal Managers can see all of their sanitary and storm sewer line data with a single click, and securely access & share it via SiteMap.
There is no additional software required to see each geolocated pipe segment, the entry & exit points for that segment, pipe material, depth, flow direction, and the condition of the segment, coded and categorized to NASSCO standards. Plus, in-app video depicting your existing pipe conditions, allowing you to proactively plan, maintain, repair and upgrade your sanitary and storm systems to:
- Reduce potholing & destructive excavation
- Reduce utility strikes & service interruptions
- Find damaging cross bores before they compromise your system
“Two of the biggest problems we’ve been trying to tackle for our customers, especially those managing large campuses or municipalities, are how we can give them concrete evidence showing them exactly where in the world their sewer lines are, and what condition they are in, so that they have access to that data in the palm of their hand 24/7,” said GPRS Chief Strategy Officer Jason Schaff. “We believe SiteMap’s Sewer Layer update solves both issues; not only can you see direct video of every pipe segment and its condition, each line is geolocated with real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning, so you can be certain of the location of every pipe in your wastewater infrastructure.
“And since it’s all delivered via SiteMap, you have complete access and control of your wastewater system data from anywhere, anytime you need it, to plan upgrades, expansions, and repairs.”
How SiteMap Sewer Layer Helps Facilities Managers
SiteMap Sewer Layer allows facilities managers in virtually every industry – including higher education, health care, manufacturing, municipal wastewater – to shift from reactive to proactive maintenance and repair schedules. They can provide concrete sewer budget items for capital planning, avoid service interruptions, locate previously unknown sanitary and storm sewer lines, and eliminate construction delays.
University campuses often span hundreds of acres with sewer infrastructure that spans centuries. With SiteMap, operations and facilities managers can identify root intrusions, pipe deformation, or blockages before they escalate into costly emergencies.
In manufacturing environments, unplanned downtime due to sewer failures can halt production and compromise safety. SiteMap allows plant engineers to monitor critical sewer lines beneath production floors, loading docks, and chemical storage areas.
“One of the biggest issues we were solving [for the auto plant] was scanning and collecting the data proactively ahead of the project rather than waiting until the construction phase,” explained Nate Stair, GPRS SiteMap Market Segment Leader & Account Executive. “This gave them the subsurface information they needed to design and plan with accurate information that we updated from the out of date and inaccurate as builts.”
Municipal wastewater departments benefit from SiteMap’s ability to centralize data across multiple sites and teams. With aging infrastructure and limited budgets, municipalities must prioritize repairs based on accurate condition assessments.
The City of Fremont, California utilized GPRS’ video pipe inspection & SiteMap to accurately locate and track the remediation of 10 dangerous cross bores caused by directional drilling fiber line installations. The platform’s cloud-based access enabled collaboration between public works, engineering consultants, and contractors, streamlining their repairs.
Municipalities across the U.S. are requiring pre and post-cross bore inspections surrounding fiber line installations to avoid dangerous and costly sewer problems caused by utility line intrusions.
Health care facilities, where sanitation and operational continuity are paramount, gain critical visibility of data with SiteMap.
Hospitals and medical campuses often have complex, undocumented sewer networks. General contractor Rudolph Libbe used SiteMap to trace sewer lines that were more than 150 years old, and verify the locations of all their subsurface infrastructure prior to building a new central utility plant at Mercy Health’s St. Vincent Medical Center. With precise mapping and video documentation, the facilities team coordinated to locate the CUP much closer to the main hospital than usual. This was only possible with exceptional subsurface as-builts.
The Benefits of SiteMap Sewer Layer
Key benefits of the SiteMap Sewer Layer include the ability to:
- Navigate to any individual line, lateral, or feature in your storm or sanitary sewer system
- Access the geolocated, tagged, and annotated video feed of your pipe conditions anytime, anywhere at the touch of a button
- Filter your data based on pipe condition and level of defect
- Securely share any segment of your sewer data with your team, contractors, vendors, and subcontractors to eliminate confusion & miscommunication
- Maintain a permanent record of your sewer data for future planning and proactive maintenance
Click below to schedule your live, personal & free SiteMap demo today!