MHOG GIS Update

GIS Assessment and Upgrade Helps Utility Offer Increased Customer Service

The Marion, Howell, Oceola, and Genoa (MHOG) Utility Department in Livingston County, Michigan partnered with OHM Advisors on a project to determine how to expand its service capabilities for its customers. The utility’s stated mission is to provide safe and reliable drinking water and sewer services to the residents in its service region. A small-staffed agency, it works hard to fulfill its mission but lacked the in-house staff and specialized knowledge to assess its GIS capabilities and determine how to make them better for the benefit of its customers.

Our team conducted an analysis and evaluation of MHOG’s existing GIS database and made recommendations for enhancements that would ultimately allow MHOG to evolve its level of service to its customers—which is an important, stated mission goal. We developed routine maintenance applications, set up an ArcGIS server for MHOG to host its own data, prepared the database for integration into the Lucity map-based work order system, and established viewer maps for MHOG staff to access internal data without requiring GIS software training.

Project Highlights: GIS, infrastructure assessment, utility, data collection