- MEMBERS RECEIVE ACCESS TO:
- CIO Leadership Group
  CIO Leadership Task Force provides a unique forum for Chief Information Officers from the largest cities and counties in the U.S. to privately interact, both through an online collaboration site and in regular face-to-face meetings. It offers these leaders an on-going opportunity to share information and experiences, and to discussing IT challenges facing larger community jurisdictions.
- Digital Infrastructure
  Task Force
  The Digital Infrastructure Task Force is a collaborative networking group for government IT professionals. Through timely exchange of information and experiences, both online and through regular face to face meetings, municipal and regional government members help each other to make smarter technology decisions for their communities.
- Law Enforcement
  IT Task Force
  The Law Enforcement Task Force is a collaborative networking group for local law enforcement officials from across the nation. In online and regular face to face meetings, both sworn and civilian law enforcement officials come here to discuss technology trends, collaboration and information sharing opportunities within the local law enforcement community.
- Private Events
  and Webinars
- Exclusive White Papers
- JOIN:
- Public Sector
- Private Sector
Digital Communities Home
Introduction
Feature Articles
Local Government Events
Contact
Digital Communities Blogs
Digital Citizen Pulse
Broadband Nation
Web 2.0 Convergence
In the Trenches
International Beat
Notes from a City CIO
Intelligent Communities
MuniGov 2.0
Surveys and Awards
Digital Cities Survey
Digital Counties Survey
DGAA Awards
Best of the Web Awards
Reference and
Resource Library
White Papers
Exclusives
Webinars
Best Practices
Digital Communities
Special Focus
Current Issue
Past Issues
Subscribe

Digital Communities
Industry Members

Click sponsor logos for whitepapers, case studies, and best practices.

Topeka, Kansas, Uses GIS Tools to Catch Illegal Sewer Hookups

February 18, 2009 By Andy Opsahl

Local governments seeking a way to collect extra revenue without raising taxes might want to follow the lead of Topeka, Kan. In 2005, the city deployed a GIS tool to help deduce homeowners that have access to the municipal sewer system without paying. The city compiled homeowner documents, like builder permits, water service applications and sewerage excavation permits, which are different than applications for access to the sewer system. The GIS tool then produced a map of the city showing where potential illegal sewer usage existed. For example, a building being on record as paying for water service but no sewer service often turned out to be receiving undocumented sewer service, explained Kyle Tjelmeland, GIS system analyst for Topeka

Each undocumented hookup Topeka discovered produced more than $1,000. The city has generated more than $120,000 since implementing the project. That may not seem like a lot of money at first glance, but it's huge to the Topeka Water Pollution Control Division, according to Daniel Rose, environmental engineering technician for the city.

"It's a ton of money when we're driven by revenue from our Water Pollution Control Division," Rose said.

You might wonder how a homeowner manages to attain functional sewer service without paying for it. Topeka homes don't have sewer meters, only water meters. The city bases sewer bills on the average amount of water a home uses over the months of December, January and February. Many local governments consider the amount of water a household uses during those three months to equal roughly the amount the household uses for flushing toilets over a year's time, Rose explained. If a home had an undocumented sewerage connection, sewer employees didn't know to calculate the household's winter water usage in order to charge the household for sewer services.

| More

GIS Data for California Roads and Landmarks a Goal of Geospatial Officer

Add Your Comment

Name *

Comment *

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. We reserve the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

In Our Library

White Papers | Exclusives Reports | Webinar Archives | Best Practices and Case Studies

Are You Sure You Are Maximizing the Value of Your Microsoft SharePoint Investment?: The Microsoft SharePoint platform provides a wealth of opportunities for any organization to streamline business processes and expand knowledge sharing; however most government organizations struggle to take advantage of these opportunities.
Hurricane Preparedness: Make sure you are prepared for hurricane season before it is here. Join in this Digital Communities teleconference and gain insight on how to prepare from experts who have been on the ground during major hurricanes.
Kofax Analytics for Capture: Does your agency struggle to add Business Intelligence to your capture operations?

Latest From Digital Communities Features

Follow @dcommunities

Government Best Practices

Digital Cities & Digital Counties Survey: Best Practice Guide

Real Time for McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

Public Safety Guide: From Call to Car to Crisis

Public Safety Mobile Apps for 4G Networks

10 Requirements for a Successful Oracle R12 Upgrade

Kofax Analytics for Capture

Business Intelligence Roadmap

Featured White Papers & Reports

Government-to-Government IT Services: What Works and What's Left to Work Out

This Digital Communities white paper highlights discussions with IT officials in four counties that have adopted shared services models. Our aim was to learn about the obstacles these governments have faced when it comes to shared services and what it takes to overcome those roadblocks. We also spoke with several members of the IT industry who have thought long and hard about these issues. The paper offers some best practices for shared government-to-government services, but also points out challenges that government and industry still must overcome before this model gains widespread adoption.

View Full Library

Events

GTC East

Don't miss this opportunity to see the latest in digital government solutions, keep abreast of current policy issues and network with key government executives, technologists and industry specialists.

View All Events