Watershed Ecosystem & Restoration Services (WERS Mapping Application) User s Guide CONTACT Site Administrators: David Gillum, GISP, AACO, OIT Rick Fisher, AACO, WERS ITGILL00@aacounty.org rfisher@aacounty.org To report errors or discrepancies in the data Contact Jeff Cox, GISP, AACO, WERS pwcox000@aacounty.org Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering Watershed, Ecosystem, & Restoration Services December 2012
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Opening Your Project Purpose A user may view and open any historically saved projects by accessing the Open Project button. Sometimes, a blank map is displayed when opening a project. To reveal the map and drawings, the user will need to right click on the available Graphics Layer and zoom to extent. This User s Guide is intended to provide basic knowledge to aid the user in navigating and using the Watershed Ecosystem, and Restoration Services Mapping Application. The application houses various integrated environmental mapping layers and is intended to provide visitors with access to useful data and tools to efficiently view these layers. Additional help is available by visiting the application and clicking F1. 20 1
Site Access Saving Your Project The WERS Mapping Application is a web based GIS enterprise application that utilizes Geocortex Viewer for Silverlight and is intended to be operated via the latest version of Windows Internet Explorer. System Requirement: Internet Explorer 8 or higher with Microsoft Silverlight add-on version 4.1 or higher. The URL address for the site is: http://www.aacounty.org/oit/gis/myannearundel.cfm The site can also be accessed directly via the Anne Arundel County home page by clicking on the My Anne Arundel tab at www.aacounty.org. Or it can be accessed via the quick link under the DPW WERS homepage. http://www.aacounty.org/dpw/watershed/ 2 19
Saving Your Project Viewing Map Layers The user may save a map project and share with other users. This map may include a specified geographic extent, specific activated layer, drawings, measurements, and text. The project is saved on the County server and a web link is provided to the user to share with others. Saved projects will be evaluated by the site administrators and some will occasionally be deleted if they are temporary Available map layers are listed on the left hand side of the application. Grouped layers are listed with an expandable toggle sign +. By clicking on this sign, the content of the group layer toggles between revealed and hidden. To draw a layer, check the box to the left of the layer. Layers will draw in the order they are listed. in nature. Please provide very specific information about your saved project and include a note to the administrator whether this project should be kept or deleted during normal maintenance cycles. The more descriptive the project name is, the easier it will be for the user to find and filter it. It is also noted that this is a public feature and Clicking on the layer will display the mapping legends. Alternatively, the user can toggle between the Show Legend and Show Layers buttons at the bottom left hand corner of the screen. The view can also be filtered to show a specific layer of interest. users may modify and overwrite any of the existing projects, so users are encouraged to use the save as feature when modifying other s projects and to use the Layers shown in grey are not supported at the selected zoom level. To view these layers, zoom in further. save feature only if they are the owner of the project. Finally, as technology changes in the future, the County may move to another viewer platform and any projects saved on the current platform will no longer function. 18 3
Getting Around Coordinate Tools The user can access the navigation tools via the Getting Around tab. The Zoom In and Out extent is fixed to predetermined levels. Data layers may not become active until the zoom level for the layer is supported. i.e. The aerial photo and parcel layers are displayed at 1000 ft scale, the Urban features at 500 ft scale, while the subwatershed, landcover, and soil data display at all zoom levels. The mouse wheel can be used to quickly zoom in and out, while the left button can be used to pan around. A right button click of the The user may specify the X & Y Coordinates, then Add and Pan to them on the map. Further, the user can click on any point on the map to display or plot or to plot them. For Lat/Lon (DD) Decimal Degrees, use 2 digits, a decimal point, and the remaining digits, including the minus sign (38.9780, -76.5463). For Lat/Lon (DMS) Degrees Minutes Seconds, the minus is not needed but the N and W are (38 58'30"N, 76 33'41"W). The degree symbol can be found in the Character Map here. Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Character Map. mouse reveals additional tools as shown below. Map Scale 4 17
Measurement Tools Distance and Area measurement tools are available under the Analysis Tab. The user can specify the preferred units of measurement. The line and polygon measurement drawings are temporary features that will disappear from the map. However, these features can Built In Queries I want to The user can navigate to a location of interest by using the I want to feature. This feature is located on the top left corner of the map and can be used to quickly locate a known tax account, restoration project, address, or a street intersection. be turned to permanent drawings. The caption below shows three distinct area measurements of impervious surface. These areas were turned to permanent drawings on the map. 16 5
Landmark search for BWI. Built In Queries I want to Drawing Tools There are various drawing tools that can be used to put together a preliminary/conceptual restoration design. These include a point, freehand, line, polygon, rectangle, arrow, circle, ellipse, triangle, and text drawing tools. The color and fill properties shall be specified by the user for each element in the beginning, as they are not available once the feature has been drawn. The caption below shows an example use of the polygon tools to develop a conceptual planting plan for Hillsmere Middle School. Click on feature of interest and select Zoom To Feature. Or click on the blue background to zoom to the feature. 6 15
Printing Maps Identifying Features Map files are created and temporary housed on the County internet server. The user should save the created Pdf map to a personal directory. The user shall not rely on the County internet server for retrieving any created maps as this server is purged periodically. A printable output map example is shown below. The user may identify available information about a layer in a specific location of interest by selecting the Getting Around tab and then the Point Identify button. By clicking on the location of interest, the feature is selected and by clicking on the selected feature, the user can reveal the data table and hyperlinked documents behind a layer of interest in the Attributes tab. The examples below show how this tool can be used to view the name of a watershed, the 303 (d) list of impairments, property information, and stream photographs. Example A: Identify Watershed Name, Code, and Acres. Exporting Maps This feature allows the user to export the map as.bmp,.jpeg,.png, and.tiff 14 7
Identifying Features Tasks Example B: By activating the parcel layer, displayed as green polygons, and clicking on the parcel of interest, the user can reveal the Tax Account number from the There are various task buttons available for making, editing, exporting, saving, and printing maps created in the WERS Mapping Application. Attribute tab and access the Maryland Real Property Data Search report from the Links tab. A printable 8.5x11 or 11x17 map can be created by developing an output printable file (Pdf, Jpeg, Tiff, or Png) and specifying the resolution and extent. The user may enter a Map Title and any special Notes to be added to the printable map. 8 13
Maps and Data Sources Identifying Features The user can add external GIS shapefiles to the mapping application by clicking the Add Shapefile button. Further, the symbology of the added shapefile can be changed. In the example below, an external shapefile of groundwater contamination sites was added Example C: The user can browse through available stream and watershed assessment photos and documents by clicking on the Point Identify button, then the inventory of interest. Photo and document links can be accessed by the Links tab. to the map view. Additional tools to facilitate identification can be found under the Analysis tab. 12 9
Identifying Features Maps and Data Sources Example D: The priority for restoration for the same reach can be revealed by activating the Stream Priority for Restoration layer. Reaches with the worst conditions are marked in red and are considered a high priority for restoration. Reaches with the best In addition to the available aerial photography, the user can access external mapping applications such as Bing Maps and Google Maps. A quick link to the Google Street Viewer is available by right clicking on the mouse. conditions are marked in green and are considered a low priority for restoration. The reach shown below is ranked as 23 out of 338 reaches in the Patapsco Tidal Watershed and 44 out of a total of 2026 reaches assessed Countywide for restoration. 10 11