Overview
The City of Marion teamed up with Horner & Shifrin to roll out H&S Skyview GIS, a cloud-based mapping tool designed to help the city meet EPA guidelines for tracking lead service lines. The project started with a thorough review of city records and construction documents to highlight which water service lines were already identified and which ones still needed to be checked.
For properties where the service line material was unknown, city inspectors visited homes and businesses to gather details. Using mobile devices, inspectors entered information and photos directly into the secure Skyview GIS platform while on site. The system lets field teams map the entire route of the service line, from the building to the meter and then to the main water line.
If a property couldn’t be accessed or the service line material couldn’t be determined during inspection, a potholing crew was called in to carefully dig near the meter and collect the necessary data. Survey equipment was used when extra mapping precision was needed.
Throughout the process, the Skyview GIS platform supported real-time data entry and reporting. The city could generate reports for individual properties, entire districts, or summary overviews—making it easy to share information with the EPA or provide the agency with direct access to the online map for compliance checks.
This project gave Marion a clear, up-to-date picture of its water service lines, helping the city stay on top of public health and regulatory needs in a straightforward, accessible way.
