Data Sources
by STEFFEN MACKE
This section gives a short introduction on the data sources available for the Al Koura area. For the data that has actually been used in the thesis, more detailed description of the nature of the data follows later on.
Between 1995 and 1998 SOGREAH performed a hydraulic analysis study. The study was used as a basis for statistics in addition to sources such as information by the Department of Statistics and the annual reports of the governorates.
As the study is quite comprehensive, the report ``Incorporating Water Loss Reduction Program'' [11], which summarizes the results of the study has been used most of the time.
The hydraulic simulation models accompanying the hydraulic analysis study do not take intermittent supply into account - they are based on complete network restructuring that do not require the intermittent supply of water any more. As an example, the hydraulic simulation model for Judayta village consists only of the DN 150 pipeline. Comparing such a model with the intermittent supply model that is introduced later on would be pointless due to the different level of detail.
The Comprehensive Subscribers Survey that is currently being executed for the whole Irbid Governorate is used to link base maps with customer information.
The link is established over a database field - primary key (PK) - that is shared between the billing system (COBOSS) and the GIS. With the survey, the correct primary key is assigned to each customer.
The process is also used to check base maps and customer data. Corrections are done if necessary.
As the villages in the Al Koura district lack street names, the GIS primary key is the only way to transparently locate customers.
The COBOL-programmed billing system used by WAJ is called COBOSS. In a process of decentralization a new COBOSS system was recently established in Irbid.
After completion of the CSS, the COBOSS data allows to integrate the actual consumption data into hydraulic models as demand. The COBOSS data contains domestic water meter readings for three-month periods.
COBOSS allows exporting the data as plain ASCII text files. These files can be imported into the GIS or into spreadsheets for further analysis.
The Department of Lands & Survey (DLS)1 is the source for the base maps in the GIS. These cadastral maps are also used in the Comprehensive Subscribers Survey. The primary key used to link COBOSS and GIS is the same key that the DLS is using.
The DLS cadastral maps are based on the Palestine Grid coordinate system, as they build the base maps for the GIS, the GIS also uses the Palestine Grid coordinate system. Table 4 contains the parameters that describe the coordinate system.
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The Royal Jordanian Geographic Centre (RJGC)2 was the source for contour maps.
One problem with the RJGC Data was that the RJGC uses a different coordinate system, the Jordan Transverse Mercator (JTM). The transformation to the Palestine Grid coordinate system was done with ESRI's ArcInfo. The information in [18] is useful to perform geographic coordinate system transformation.
Water quality data is currently recorded on a per-village basis, the exact location is only known by the employee that is taking the sample. This way the records become quickly, even though they are entered in a database.
A new ORACLE-based database system has been purchased. Hopefully, this will ease the process of linking the available GIS data. That in turn could yield a powerful analysis option, as the spatial distribution of contamination can only be overlooked with the help of a geographic information system.
The Central Laboratories use EPANET V 1.00 to build hydraulic models for quality analysis. Intermittent supply is not taken into account by the models used, thus the calibration of these models is doomed.
A knowledge transfer was hampered by time constraints and the Central Laboratories bureaucracy, requiring official letters.
The Logging Campaign took place from 13th to 15th January 2001 and covered one full supply interval of Judayta village. In cooperation with the leak detection of the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) flow and pressure measurements were undertaken.
The main purpose of the altimeter surveys was to check the quality of the Digital Elevation Models (DEM) created from the RJGC contour maps (section 3.5).
A 'Bucket Fill'- test was used to assess the tank overflow of the Judayta pumping station.
A simple water meter test setup including an air release valve was used to evaluate water meter readings for intermittent supply.
Figures 1 and 2 use geographic data (shapefiles) that has been downloaded from the web sites of ESRI3 and CDC4. The following web pages have been used as entry points to obtain the data: