Orchard Dale Water District Selects Nobel Systems to Build a More Connected Future for Water Operations
- Aug 18
- 6 min read
Creating a connected digital foundation for infrastructure visibility, field operations, and smarter utility decision-making with GeoViewer.
For water utilities, modernizing operations is increasingly about connecting the information, infrastructure, and people that keep water systems running every day.
Maps, valve records, hydrant maintenance, field observations, property information, regulatory reports, and operational history all provide valuable insight. But when that information is difficult to access or spread across different formats and workflows, its value to the organization is limited.
Orchard Dale Water District is addressing that challenge through a new Enterprise Cloud Geographic Information System initiative with Nobel Systems.
Through the partnership, Nobel Systems will provide the District with GeoViewer, its cloud-based GIS platform designed to make infrastructure information more accessible across both office and field operations. The project will establish an enterprise environment where staff can securely access water system data, work with digital maps, support field activities, and build a stronger foundation for future utility modernization.
For Orchard Dale, the project is not simply about moving GIS to the cloud. It is about making GIS a more practical part of everyday operations—connecting infrastructure information to the people responsible for managing, maintaining, and protecting the water system.
Making Infrastructure Information Useful Across the District
GIS contains valuable operational information, but that information should not be limited to GIS specialists.
Operators, managers, customer-facing personnel, and field crews also need quick access to infrastructure and property information to perform their work effectively.
GeoViewer provides an intuitive browser-based environment where authorized Orchard Dale staff can access interactive water system maps without extensive GIS expertise. Employees can locate areas within the service territory, search infrastructure and property information, and securely access relevant spatial datasets.
The business value is straightforward: staff can spend less time searching for information or relying on individual specialists and more time acting on it.
GIS becomes more than a technical resource—it becomes a shared source of operational intelligence.
Establishing a Stronger Digital Foundation
A reliable enterprise GIS begins with reliable data.
As part of the implementation, Nobel Systems will integrate Orchard Dale’s existing GIS spatial layers into GeoViewer, configure secure user accounts, perform system testing, and provide staff training. The project also includes converting paper atlas maps into digital GIS information, helping move important infrastructure records into a modern environment.
Once those records exist within a shared platform, staff can do more than simply view them.
GeoViewer supports:
Property and infrastructure searches
Spatial selections
Document retrieval
Measurements and map printing
Street View
Bookmarks
Links between mapped features and supporting information
This gives Orchard Dale a more connected way to work with infrastructure information.
Instead of treating a map as the final product, the District can use GIS as an interface to the documents, records, properties, and operational information surrounding the water system.
That establishes a stronger digital foundation for long-term modernization.
Putting GIS Where Water Operations Actually Happen
Much of the work involved in managing a water system happens outside the office.
Crews need to locate assets, exercise valves, flush hydrants, respond to utility-marking requests, conduct inspections, and document changing field conditions.
GeoViewer Mobile brings the District’s GIS environment directly into these activities.
The platform supports connected and disconnected field workflows, allowing personnel to view and collect information even when wireless connectivity is unavailable. Asset information, GPS, photographs, work history, service information, and as-built documentation can all become part of the mobile workflow, with field updates synchronized back to the enterprise environment.
This creates a more continuous flow of information between field and office teams.
Key benefits include:
Reduced duplicate data entry
More consistent infrastructure information
Stronger field-to-office coordination
Better documentation of completed activities
Greater preservation of institutional knowledge
Most importantly, routine work can continuously improve the District’s understanding of its infrastructure.
Connecting Maintenance, Resources, and Asset History
GeoViewer also creates a stronger relationship between assets and the resources required to maintain them.
Maintenance activities can be associated with mapped infrastructure and supported by scheduling, assignments, field execution, documentation, materials, and historical records.
Over time, Sierra Madre can develop a more complete view of:
Asset condition and maintenance frequency
Inspection and repair history
Labor and material requirements
Operational costs
Service impacts
Recurring infrastructure issues
Overall lifecycle performance
This creates a better foundation for deciding when continued maintenance makes sense—and when rehabilitation or replacement may offer greater long-term value.
For municipal leadership, that connection is critical. Asset management is ultimately not about maintaining everything equally; it is about directing limited resources toward the infrastructure where they can deliver the greatest value.
Building Better Asset History Through Everyday Work
Field activities generate valuable information about how infrastructure performs over time.
Valve exercising is one example. GeoViewer can connect compatible valve-turning equipment with mobile GIS workflows so information such as date, number of turns, and torque can become part of the asset record. Non-operational valves can be identified for follow-up work, while historical records remain available to crews and supervisors.
Hydrant maintenance can build the same type of history. Field personnel can capture flushing duration, observed flow, water conditions, chlorine residuals, water source, and related observations while reviewing previous activity for the same hydrant.
The immediate value is a better field workflow.
The longer-term value is asset intelligence.
Instead of relying on memory or isolated records, Orchard Dale can develop a clearer understanding of asset history, recurring issues, and maintenance needs: information that can ultimately support better infrastructure decisions.
Making Main Break Response More Informed
When a water main breaks, speed matters—but so does context.
Staff need to understand which valves may need to be closed, what part of the system will be isolated, and which properties could be affected.
GeoViewer provides a GIS-based framework for evaluating these questions. Staff can identify an incident location, determine valves associated with an isolation strategy, and view potentially affected properties. The resulting isolation information can then be saved and shared with other personnel.
This helps Orchard Dale see a service interruption in relation to the surrounding distribution network and customer geography rather than as an isolated event.
The outcome is faster coordination and better-informed operational response.
Strengthening Underground Infrastructure Protection
Protecting buried infrastructure is another important part of utility risk management.
GeoViewer’s DigAlert integration provides a digital workflow for receiving and managing utility-marking tickets. Tickets can be assigned to personnel, viewed geographically, updated with comments and photographs, and tracked through completion.
This creates a stronger connection between the location of underground infrastructure and the work required to protect it.
For Orchard Dale, that means better documentation, greater field accountability, and a more consistent workflow for utility-marking activities.
Turning Utility Data Into Management Insight
The value of collecting operational information increases when leaders can use it to understand performance.
GeoViewer includes reporting and Business Intelligence capabilities designed to turn operational records into information managers can review and act upon.
Reporting can support activities including valve exercising, hydrant flushing, hydrant fire flow testing, inoperable valve tracking, DigAlert work, and other utility programs. Configurable dashboards and reporting formats can help management review status, identify trends, and communicate operational performance.
The project also draws on Nobel Systems’ experience with California water-loss reporting and configurable utility reporting workflows.
For managers, this creates greater visibility into everyday operations and a stronger basis for:
Planning resources
Identifying recurring issues
Monitoring program activity
Supporting reporting requirements
Evaluating operational performance
GIS therefore begins serving not only field operations but also management decision-making.
A Platform Designed to Grow With Orchard Dale
The current project provides Orchard Dale with a broad digital foundation that includes GeoViewer Online and Mobile, GIS digitization, GPS field data collection, valve isolation, hydrant flushing, DigAlert integration, property information, training, and technical support.
The GeoViewer platform also creates a pathway toward additional capabilities such as CMMS work order management, service-order integration, Leak Registry, hazard assessment, backflow management, and field workflows for reservoirs, tanks, wells, and other facilities.
That scalability is important because utility needs do not remain static.
Infrastructure ages. Regulations evolve. Field processes change. New data becomes available. Workforce knowledge must be preserved as personnel transition.
A technology investment should therefore solve today's operational challenges while also creating a foundation for what comes next.
Advancing the Next Generation of Water Utility GIS
The partnership between Orchard Dale Water District and Nobel Systems represents a broader evolution in the role of GIS.
The goal is no longer simply to replace paper maps with digital ones.
It is to create an environment where infrastructure information is accessible across the organization, field activities strengthen asset records, operational workflows are geographically connected, and managers have better information for decision-making.
Nobel Systems brings decades of GIS, cloud, data integration, and utility experience to the initiative. Founded in 1992, the company has supported more than 100 public and private organizations through enterprise GIS programs focused on accessibility, integration, and operational efficiency.
For Orchard Dale Water District, GeoViewer provides a practical platform for bringing those capabilities into everyday water operations.
The future of water utility GIS will not be defined by how much information a utility collects.
It will be defined by how effectively that information helps staff understand infrastructure, coordinate field work, protect assets, preserve operational knowledge, and make better decisions.
With its new Enterprise Cloud GIS initiative, Orchard Dale Water District is building toward that future—connecting data, field operations, and utility intelligence within a platform designed to serve today's needs while remaining ready for what comes next.
About Nobel Systems
Nobel Systems, Inc. is a leader in Cloud GIS and Smart Utility Solutions, delivering innovative mapping technology, data services, and strategic consulting to support sustainable public service operations. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Redlands, California, Nobel Systems, Inc. serves clients across the United States and internationally.
Learn more at www.nobel-systems.com
