Plaquemines Parish GIS Data Development

Plaquemines Parish contracted BKI for a major GIS development project for consisting of six phases over 5 years. 

The assessment included evaluating and documenting the parish’s existing GIS systems and data, which were essentially non-existent except for general federal and state-level data.  BKI documented the Parish organization, work processes, data flow, hardware and software systems, and existing GIS data sources.  We also met with individual departments to determine the needs for GIS and the types of functions that would increase work performance and efficiency.  From this information, BKI developed a phased approach project plan with schedules, budgets, and a detailed description of the work to be performed.

Based on the approved project plan, phase 2 was implemented consisting primarily of GIS data development of key base map data layers including road centerlines, address points, parish landmarks, and detailed parcel boundary data.  The road centerlines were developed from an existing dataset, but modifications were required to adjust the lines to the aerial photography and correct the address ranges per the address points.  The address points were converted from tiled CAD files into a GIS point dataset.  The parcel data was generated from scratch from hundreds of tax assessor river plats, subdivision plats, scanned surveys, and Parish ordinance records.  Each parcel was assigned its respective tax parcel ID so the GIS data could be linked directly to the tax assessor database.

In Phase 3, BKI continued the development of parcel data and added various major datasets including levee data, planemetric data, and wastewater infrastructure data.  The levee data was developed using Corps of Engineer survey data with precise angles and distances and included station markers and levee crossings.  The planemetric data included developing features such as building footprints, paved areas, fences, and hydrology features like lakes, creeks, and canals. The wastewater data was developed using a combination of existing manhole points and as-built drawings to generate the sewer lines.  Where visible, the manholes were adjusted to aerial photography and all system connectivity was validated and corrected using a geometric network.