This document summarizes a presentation about developing a mobile application using Esri Survey123 and Spike to conduct inspections of permanent water quality control measures (PWQ CMs) for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). The application was created to address EPA audit findings and an administrative order requiring CDOT to improve inspections of PWQ CMs. It automatically populates inspection form fields with location data, integrates a laser measurement tool to calculate feature areas, and stores completed inspections in a central database. Lessons learned included the need for clear requirements, iterative design, and a comprehensive strategy considering both software and hardware. The application streamlined inspections while meeting EPA requirements.

1. Engineering Environmental
Comic Relief
I just want to be compliant with the EPA in
the most efficient way possible

2. Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
Permanent Water Quality (PWQ) Inspection
Application
Utilizing Esri Survey 123 and Spike
Jeremiah Unger
CDOT Illicit Discharge Manager and PWQ Field Manager
Colorado Stormwater Council Technical Review and Advisory Committee (TRAC) Chairperson
American Public Works Association (APWA) Public Works Manager
Suresh George MS (Electrical Engineering), MS (Computer Science), MBA
Survey123 Developer

3. Agenda
• Laws
• What is an MS4 permit
• What is Permanent Water Quality
• CDOT EPA audit and administrative order of consent (AOC)
• Inspections
• Business Case for the Survey 123 application
• The inspection forms
• How we met the requirements
• Lessons Learned

4. LAWS
• Clean water Act (Authority to enforce is by EPA)
• Assigns authority to Army Corps of Engineers
for waters of the U.S.
• NPDES
• MS4 (CDOT has a Phase 1 MS4 permit)

5. MS4 Permit
• CDOT’s 2015 MS4 permit
– Construction Sites Program (*)
– Permanent Water Quality Program
– Illicit Discharges Program
– Industrial Facilities Program
– Public Education and Outreach Program (*)
– Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping
– Wet Weather Monitoring
* Statewide programs

6. Pre-
Development
Post-
Development
http://www.mass.gov/envir/smart_growth_to
olkit/pages/mod-lid.html

7. Pre-Development Stormwater
Discharges
Vegetation is Nature’s BMP
– It slows the flow
– Roots hold soil together
– Allows water to
percolate into the
ground
– Allows water to
evaporate
– Filters/traps sediment

8. Post Development Stormwater
Discharges
Paving, Concrete, Impervious
Surfaces
– Decrease in natural
vegetation
– Creates higher peak
discharges
– Concentrates flows
– Increases Opportunity
for Erosion

9. Overview of Common Features
Hydrologic Operations
• Attenuation of Peak Flow Rates
• Volume Reduction
Physical Processes
• Screening and Filtration
• Sedimentation

10. Installation and Inspection of
PWQ
• MS4 Permit requires CDOT to
select, install, implement, and
maintain PWQ CMs for Projects.
• All PWQ CMs must meet very
specific design standards with the
ultimate goal of treating all CDOT MS4 area.
• The very first inspection must be done
prior to Final Acceptance. This is important because this
is when the handover to maintenance happens
• PWQ training developed by Colorado State University
=Survey123

11. EPA Audit Findings Results
17 Findings mainly focused on three (3) programs:
–Construction Sites
–Permanent Water Quality
–Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping
…and Program Management including Training.
11

12. EPA’s Administrative
Order on Consent (AOC), cont.
– #72 Keep a current detailed PWQ facility inventory and provide
current copy of this inventory for 2018 and 2019 to EPA and CDPHE
(Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment).
– #73 and 74 Develop/ implement a procedure for PWQ long term
maintenance including implementing IGAs (Intergovernmental
Agreements), Identify entities responsible for Maintenance,
inspections, communication, maintenance work order tracking, work
verification etc. by Sept 1, 2017. Report on the list of PWQ inspected
and maintained for 2017 and 2018 by Jan 31, the following year.
– #78-80 “Any failure to comply with the requirements of this Consent
Order shall constitute a violation of this AOC and may subject CDOT
to penalties. . .”
we can still get fined!!

13. CAT BREAK!

14. The Project Requirements:
• Must be geo-located and data housed centrally at CDOT HQ
• Must work inside existing CDOT software environment
• Must be field accessible
• Must be quick and adaptive
• Prefer to use existing inspection and maintenance protocols
• Track Inspector’s time
Tools available to CDOT
• Bentley ProjectWise
• Esri products/tools
• SAP business operations software
• Microsoft Excel
• Other proprietary systems

15. • Location data/information
Routine Maintenance
Inspections
Walk-throughs Inspection
Form
• Overall facility condition rating
• Available as a fillable .pdf and an
.xls file

17. Esri ArcGIS
Enterprise
Cutting Edge of Technology at work
Esri
Collector
Esri Survey123
With weblink
to weather &
Rainfall in the
last 72 hours
+
Photos
+
Spike
Esri ArcGIS
Enterprise
and SQL
Server
Database

19. How were the project needs & requirements
addressed?
Reference Materials:
• There were a 2 documents and one Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that
served as Reference:
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• PWQ CM Inspection Form Instructions
• Working Software - Inspection Form – (Excel Spreadsheet)

20. How were the project needs & requirements addressed?
Software selection:
• Need: Auto-population of as many attributes as possible in the
Survey123 Inspection Form
• Solution: Esri Explorer mapviewer app connected to Esri
ArcGIS Enterprise Server

21. How were the project needs & requirements addressed?
Software selection (continued)
• Need: Form-Based, easy to use, mobile-device-based software,
with Geo-location and photo capture.
• Solution: Esri Survey123 was an easy choice.
• Desire: An easy way to measure the area of the PWQ feature
• Solution: Spike from ikeGPS, a laser measurement tool
• Need: Above 2 requirements to be integrated into one software
• Solution: Spike, integrated with Esri Survey123

22. How were the project needs & requirements addressed?
Software selection (continued)
• Need: A way to store the precious, expensive, field-collected data
• Solution: Esri ArcGIS Enterprise Server, along with SQL Server
database.

23. How were the project needs & requirements addressed?
Hardware selection:
• Need: A company-approved, handheld, mobile device with
Data Plan.
• Solution: CDOT-approved Android-based device (Samsung
Tab A Notepad) with Data Plan.
• Need: An easy, integrated way to measure the area.
• Solution: Spike, the laser measurement tool, from ikeGPS.

24. Challenges we faced
•XLS Form
•Spike device’s auto shutoff (6 minutes)
•Brightness and Contrast of Samsung Tab A
•The Samsung Tab A touch-controls

25. Lessons Learned
• Have clear, written, descriptions of expectations.
• Have an Agile-like design-verify engagement between
Developer & End Customer.
• Have a Comprehensive end-to-end strategy early on.
• Great support from ikeGPS and from Esri Survey123
product support team.

26. Live Demo time!

27. Esri Explorer App in
Samsung Tab A Tablet

28. Select the PWQCM
Inspections Web Map

29. All the PWQ CMs
in the CDOT MS4
area

30. Zoom into the map area
of interest.
In this example, we are
choosing a PWQ CM
feature that is closer to
2018 GIS in the Rockies
location.

31. Once the desired PWQ CM
feature is selected, Esri
Explorer provides a link to
connect to the Survey123
app.

32. Control is now transferred
from Esri Collector app to
Esri Survey123 app,
transferring all the relevant
attributes of the selected
PWQ CM feature.

33. In Survey123 app,
the PWQ CM app is loading
the survey.

34. Survey123 app is automatically
opened with the map features
auto filled, including Region,
Section, Route, MS4 Boundary,
Mile Point, etc.

35. Inspector fills in the appropriate
information.
There is a link to get the weather
info from the internet.
Temperature may be manually
entered or through the spinner
control using the + or - icons.
Radio buttons are provided for
ease of use in the field.

36. Control Measure Type is a
Dropdown Menu.
Inspections of Features are
expandable as needed, based on
what is there to inspect.

38. Select the
findings and the
appropriate
assessments
Comments field
is restricted to
take the first 150
characters.

39. Up to 3 photos may
be taken from
within the app.
Area of the PWQ
CM feature may
optionally be
measured by
clicking the Spike
icon.

41. Prior to starting the Survey123
app, start the Spike app by
clicking on it.

42. Turn ON the Spike device

43. Connect the Spike device.

44. Aim the Spike laser to the center of
the object of interest and take a
picture.
Note that the red dot of Spike in this
example, is the approximate center
of the name board.

45. Align the corners to the vertices
of the polygon to be measured.
Vertices may be added as
needed.
The length measurements of
the sides of the polygon and
specifically, the area of the
polygon are indicated in the
picture.
Note that the area of 4.3 ft2 is
displayed in the center in the
picture.

46. Area of the
selected
polygon is
auto-filled in
the app.

47. Overall Facility Rating and Percent are
critical features of this form. The
values are auto-calculated based on
the inspection findings.
Potential Illicit Discharge app is
currently under development at
CDOT.
Approximate time taken to complete
the inspection is a Required Field.
The electronic signature of the
Inspector certifies the inspection.

48. Upon completion of the
Survey, choices are given
to the inspector to
‘Send Later’
‘Send Now’ or
‘Continue this survey’

49. Challenges
• The XLS Form (which has the code for this app) has the
look-and-feel of Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, but does
not yet have the richness.
• Spike device has a 30-second auto-shutoff time when left
unattended.
• Brightness and Contrast of Samsung Tab A were found to
be insufficient for the field.
• The Samsung Tab A touch-controls do not respond
adequately in cold conditions.

50. Lessons Learned
• Have clear, written, descriptions of the expectations.
• Develop a close, iterative, design-verify-cycle between the app
developer and the business personnel for checking and verifying if
the app meets the business expectations in content and style.
• Have a comprehensive strategy for the software and hardware and
assess the risks (time, associated $, technology) involved, as early
in the design/development cycle as possible.
• Great support from ikeGPS and from Esri Survey123 product
support team.

51. Questions, Gripes, Concerns, Discussion
Thank You for the Opportunity
Jeremiah Unger, Suresh George