GIS Case Study: Harris-Galveston Subsidence District. Friendswood, Texas

NewEdge was contracted with Harris-Galveston Subsidence District (HGSD) to replace an unsupported legacy software system with Cityworks PLL. The legacy system was built specifically for HGSD and included detailed processes that needed to be incorporated into the Cityworks workflows for water well permits, renewals, registrations, and amendments. Enforcement activities also had comprehensive content including compromise and settlements, annual inspections, discovered wells, and legal action. The district also offers permittees and citizens to earn credits that can be sold or applied as payment by purchasing water conservation education kits for elementary students. The scope also encompassed scripting a legacy data import directly from a SQL database that could be replicated by the client spontaneously during testing.

Faster Processing
After several onsite meetings collecting detailed process aspects, NewEdge successfully configured Cityworks to replicate the key features necessary for the District to maintain its standards. Based on the number of permits being approved monthly, NewEdge developed custom tools utilizing the Cityworks API to allow for faster processing.

Beyond a properly configured system that contained all the legacy data dating back to the 1970’s, the District required numerous custom reports to be generated under many different circumstances. It was determined these documents were critical and needed to be organized by well. Therefore, the district initiated a contract with a third-party document management system which inherently integrates with Cityworks. HGSD is currently implementing that software before going live with Cityworks in early 2021.