David Crawford, Esri, kicked off the Utility Network Summit with an introduction to the Utility Network including information on schema options, the structure network, domains, and asset groups. The Utility Network can be used for utilities such as electric, telco, gas, and water. David provided information on the overall use of the Utility Network, and later provided technical information helpful to attendees who are starting to work through an implementation.

After a short mid-morning break, David introduced more advanced concepts in the Utility Network including network rules and resolving dirty areas. This session included a live demo showcasing the Utility Network possibilities and how to troubleshoot issues. David took several technical questions from attendees who are already working with the Utility Network.

After a lunch provided by City of Bellevue Utilities, Katarina Hirai presented her experience implementing ESRI’s Water Utility Network at Silver Lake Water & Sewer District. Katarina shared the progress they have made, despite being a very small Utility.

Katarina also recommended Esri’s monthly Water Utility Network Working Group that meets regularly over Teams to discuss their implementation phases and timeline. She provided tips and suggestions for the Summit attendees, lessons learned for topics like resolving topology and geometry errors, and shared the several year timeline planned for their implementation beyond 2025. 

Next, Shawn Buck, Mike Velasco, and Dan Dulan with Covington Water District provided insights on their journey to implement the Water Utility Network. They provided information on using project management to manage their implementation and their migration timeline. Like Silver Lake Water & Sewer District, Covington Water District also found use in hiring a consultant during their implementation. Covington Water District provided lessons learned during implementation and showcased a live demo. They provided information on their Utility Network connection to their customer database and their notification system to contact residents during emergencies that require shut offs.

Attendees were then given the opportunity to discuss and ask questions during a panel discussion lead by panel members David Crawford, Katarina Hirai, Shawn Buck, Mike Velasco, Dan Dulan, and Joe Brentin. 

Panelists fielded questions from the audience as well as questions that were previously submitted in a survey before the Summit. 

With the Utility Network sufficiently introduced, attendees were then given the opportunity to consider four vendors for assistance in their implementations. These vendors were also sponsors for the event.

Raymond Chow and Brett Ruoti from Trimble Cityworks introduced their company with examples of government organizations in Washington State that Trimble Cityworks has partnered with to implement the Utility Network. 

Trimble supports the Cityworks Enterprise Asset Management and e-Builder Digital Project Delivery and has recently introduced Trimble Unity.

Scott Stafford-Veale from VertiGIS presented web and mobile apps that will modernize network management. VertiGIS offers several deployment options such as SaaS or on-prem. VertiGIS offers web and mobile solutions to manage assets and link to other business systems.

Marcus Glass from Pro-West & Associates presented the services for utilities that their company provides. Pro-West & Associates solutions focus on land records, public works, and public utilities. They provide services such as data development, data clean up, training, scripting and automation. They tend to work with small and mid-sized organizations.

Tommy Garcia from NV5 presented their company where they have localized contracts in all 50 states. NV5 is a partner with Trimble Cityworks, VertiGIS, and Safe Software. They provide services for water, wastewater, stormwater, and reclaimed systems. They are currently working on several GIS Utility network projects across the country.

Thank you to our vendors; Trimble Cityworks, VertiGIS, Pro-West & Associates, and NV5!

A huge thank you to our committee members and volunteers Darci Smith, Taylor Dixon, Christina Chelf, Emily Pitman Handy, Chelsea Sturgal, Heather Glock, Elisabeth Leaf, Dan Miller, and Max Mousseau.

The WAGISA Professional Development Committee coordinates career starting and advancing opportunities including pre-conference workshops and events such as the Utility Network Summit offered this year. This committee meets the second Tuesday of every month at noon. To get involved in the Professional Development Committee, please email workshops@wagisa.org.