About The Township of Langley
The Township of Langley is located outside of the City of Vancouver that serves a community of approximately 143,000 citizens. In 2011, the Township of Langley underwent a full review of their water quality program to ensure that they were doing things according to best practices.
The Challenge
The Township of Langley needed to find a process to manage their data. They were managing their water quality data in three different formats: MS Access database for distribution system results, MS Excel spreadsheets for their source water results and paper records at the water filtration plant. Their external lab provided them with test results in a paper report which would then be manually typed into one of the three data management formats by data entry staff. This resulted in data discrepancies, making it difficult to trust and report the results. In addition to their data division, they needed to manually track regulatory requirements for their annual and semi-annual source water testing of wells.
“I chose WaterTrax to reduce the duplication of efforts in data entry and because it is secure and easily accessible across our entire network. After using WaterTrax for the last couple of years, I could never go back.”
We are confident in the fact that we can rely on the WaterTrax parameter database to be up to date and I don’t have to personally track all of the analyte parameters, which are constantly changing.
The Solution: WaterTrax
“I chose WaterTrax to reduce the duplication of effort in data entry and because it is secure and easily accessible across our entire network,” explains Mr. Siira. Timo states that consolidation of all their system-wide data into a single data management system is the biggest benefit that WaterTrax has brought to their organization. “By consolidating our data in WaterTrax, we have reduced errors which has really cleaned up our data handling.”
The Benefits
The built-in parameter database is a very useful feature for the Township of Langley. With their daily and annual testing at various locations, they find that the index of all of the required parameters to be a huge help. With the source water testing, the Township tests their wells for over 100 analytes. “We can rely on WaterTrax to be up to date and I don’t have to personally track all of the analyte parameters, which are constantly changing,” explains Timo. The WaterTrax parameters database provides a comprehensive collection of regulatory and health related information for over 300 biological, chemical, and physical contaminants.
Since implementation of a smart data management tool, the Township has improved their data management practices, allowing them to use their resources in a more productive manner, resulting in smarter management of their water system. WaterTrax provides the Township with peace of mind that all of their data is accurate and allows them to have a better understanding of their system and provide a better service to their customers.
Solution Highlights
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Consolidated data that are secure and easily accessible across the entire network
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Test results that are automatically compared to the most up-to-date analytes using a built-in parameter database
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Time savings and reduced errors in data entry
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Resources used in a more productive manner
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Overall smarter water system management with a better understanding of their system and thus improved service to their customers