SA Environment Protection Agency - Environmental Data Management System (EDMS)

The Client

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is a division of the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage. Under delegation from the Environment Protection Authority the EPA administers the Environment Protection Act 1993, which seeks to ensure effective environmental protection, restoration and enhancement.

The Challenges

To develop a system to act as a repository for all data collation undertaken by the EPA as part of their data monitoring programs, and in particular, Water Quality, and to provide standard and ad hoc reporting functionality against this data. To provide a GIS interface to the data.

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The Solution

SRA designed and developed the Environmental Data Management System for the EPA to collate environmental data such as Water, Air, Noise, Meteorological and Biological. In particular the EPA utilise EDMS for the substantial Water Quality program operating in SA.

A component of the Environmental Data Management System is the collation of data from industry, based on data collection requirements as a result of issuing licenses to the organisations that participate in some form of emission process. The application incorporates the parallel use of spatial and a-spatial information to analyse the data.

This application delivers data versus application independence, the requirement being that a user can access the information from any tool, subject to data and security authorisation checks. Thus, using this modular approach the best tool for the job can be utilised and future developments allow various components of the system to be re-developed without the need for major re-development of the system as a whole.

Internet access was implemented using Apache Web Server, and incorporated dynamic on-line, access to the data repository. In addition ArcView Internet MapServer provides map access over the Internet enabling dynamic map-based queries. The use of stored database procedures and triggers for server side processing was implemented to reduce intensive client data manipulation.

As a result of the unique functionality offered, articles were published in journals and conference proceedings (e.g. Proceedings of the AWWA South Australian Regional Conference and Water).

A lightweight GIS tool allowing spatial integration of information was implemented using ESRIs' MapObjects tool, and provides for a 'packaged' spatial facility that does not require the ownership of any additional products such as MapInfo and ArcView.

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The Technology

Oracle Database
Oracle Forms and Reports and Oracle Discoverer Ad-Hoc Reports
ESRI MapObjects
MS Office Applications

The Services

Project Management
Requirements Definition
Technical Development
User Interface Design
Testing
Training
Ongoing Support

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