Use of open source software in GIS by water services providers.

GIS in water services providers can become a big task and difficult to do it in a practical and accountable manner. Before implentation of GIS one should ask the following three main questions: 1. Why do I need to use opensource softwares? 2. Which are the softwares? 3. How are software used? We are going to answer these questions. Welcome. Use case of Nakuru Water and Sanitation Service company where data collection was done using Garmin GPS which was then replaced with GeoODK and ultimately QField. QFieldSync plugin helps in preparation and packaging QGIS projects for QField. Management of water cycle is better with the Giswater software, with different user functionalities which defines the users work since a single employee is not overseeing the whole process of water cycle in an organisation. Modelling software EPANET and EPA SWMM is easily integrated with Giswater too. GeoServer becomes a good software for development of web based applications for sharing GIS data easily. Authors and Affiliations – Geoffrey Kirui, the lead consultant at GIS For Water and Sanitation, Nairobi, Kenya. Requirements for the Attendees – Requirements are basic knowledge in QGIS, PostgreSQL and PostGIS, GISWATER and GeoServer and modelling software EPANET and EPA SWMM. PostgreSQL: postgresql.org Giswater: giswater.org QGIS: qgis.org GeoServer: geoserver.org Modelling software EPANET: epa.gov EPA SWMM: epa.gov Track – Software Topic – Data visualization: spatial analysis, manipulation and visualization Level – 2 - Basic. General basic knowledge is required. Language of the Presentation – English