Accurate data is critical for effective asset management for such things as system capacity planning, rehabilitation planning, emergency response and pollution prevention.

HRM is actively building a Geographic Information System (GIS) of its stormwater and wastewater infrastructure servicing HRM's urban core areas of Halifax, Beechville/Lakeside/Timberlea, Beaver Bank, Sackville, Bedford, Dartmouth Cole Harbour, Eastern Passage and smaller communities outside the urban core, such as Uplands Park, Springfield Lake, Fall River, Wellington Subdivision, AeroTech Park, Frame Subdivision, Middle Musquodoboit and North Preston.

Data is collected on system chambers which are accurately surveyed to within a 150 mm of their real world location.  Those chambers are then loaded into the GIS database and are used to connect associated system pipes.  System attribute information is collected from paper record plans, available schematic data and/or information collected by outside consultants.    Collectively this spatial and attribute data form HRM's Stormwater and Wastewater Infrastructure Database (1.3 MB) as shown below.