Using the Global Positioning System for the

Drinking Water Source Assessment

Protection Program

Part IIntroduction

Curriculum developed by the

Information Center for the Environment
University of California Davis
for the California Department of Health Services

August 2000

This page intentionally left blank

USING THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

PART IINTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
The Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection (DWSAP) Program is California's
portion of the federally mandated Source Water Assessment Program. As the first step in the
development of a complete protection program, California's Department of Health Services
(DHS) must evaluate all public drinking water sources for their vulnerability to
contamination.
One of the most important components is the process of updating the source locations in
DHS's database. Knowing the precise location of each source allows a more accurate
estimate of how close it is to any neighboring activities that are potentially contaminating.
Accurate source locations are also critical to DHS's ability to perform complex spatial
analysis, meet legislative mandates, and properly manage the state's drinking water
resources.
The locations of many sources are known reasonably well, but a large percentage of the more
than 16,000 active sources in California are poorly located. Instead of spending a large
amount of money and effort on a separate program, the DHS has decided to integrate the
recording of source locations into the routine, day-to-day operations of the field personnel.
When DHS or LPA field engineers visit a source whose location needs to be updated, they
will spend a little extra time to record the source's position, using the Global Positioning
System (GPS).
The federal requirement for source locational accuracy is that the latitude and longitude on
record for a drinking-water source must identify a point within 25 meters of the actual
location. Using GPS to establish locations will ensure that the locational data is well within
these requirements.
OUTLINE OF THE MANUAL

The Information Center for the Environment (ICE) at the University of California Davis has
designed a set of standard procedures and an application, the GPS Data Management System
(DMS), to capture accurate source locations and update DHS's database with these locations.
ICE is training DHS employees in the operation of the DMS software. This manual is
intended to supplement the training and serve as a later reference.
The training manual is being made available online in several parts, so that it may be
downloaded in sections as needed. The hardcopy of this manual will also be divided into the
same sections, but will be held in a single binder.
Part IIntroduction
This document.
Part IIIntroduction to GPS
Basic principles of the Global Positioning System, including how it works, common
applications, factors affecting accuracy, and an introduction to data dictionaries.

Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection Program

Page 1

PART IINTRODUCTION

USING THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

Part IIIGetting Acquainted with the GeoExplorer II

Overview of using the GeoExplorer II handheld GPS receiver. Includes hands-on exercises
using buttons and menus, and a practice data-collection session. There is also an overview of
the structure of the data dictionary designed for the DWSAP Program.
Part IV - The GPS Data Management System
Detailed instructions for installing, using, and supporting the GPS Data Management System
software.
Appendices
A. GPS Data Management System Checklist
B. Field Data Collection Guide
C. What is Declination?
D. Dictionary of terms and acronyms
E. Program Contacts

Page 2

Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection Program

USING THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

PART IINTRODUCTION

This page intentionally left blank

Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection Program

Page 3