Richland County GIS

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RC GEO
Richland County GEOgraphic Information Systems (GIS) is both a division of the Information Technology (IT) Department and a county-wide program of spatial data and application development. The GIS team consists of a core group of professionals within IT as well as personnel in other departments. The IT/GIS team is responsible for the development of the County's baseline digital spatial databases and for providing state-of-the-art mapping and data services to County departments, citizens, local governments, and businesses. GIS team members in other departments are responsible for data maintenance within their thematic discipline and resulting analytical projects. The combined structure of the County GIS team is referred to as RC GEO. The RC GEO mission statement outlines the goals and objectives of the County GIS program. The Richland County GIS Implementation Plan provides a detailed explanation of successes to date and departmental recommendations for the future. Due to its large file size, a digital copy of the Implementation Plan can be made available upon request.

Geographic Information Systems
Within the context of county government, GIS refers to a collection of technologies including computer hardware, software, and data that are combined to capture, store, update, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced features. GIS uses feature location to relate otherwise disparate elements while providing a systematic framework for managing location-based data. More than 80 percent of all information used by local governments has a geographic context. With GIS, the diverse facts and figures of county government operations can be combined into a common database and accessed according to the requirements of individuals or departments. With GIS, any location or point on the map, can become an index to cultural, economic, environmental, demographic, and political information about that location. With geography as the common denominator, GIS ties data from many different sources into a single base map, incorporates changes as they are entered, and analyzes information to solve specific problems.

Why 'GEO'?
Richland County is utilizing a spectrum of spatial technologies that are coordinated in our GIS framework. Technologies such as the global positioning system (GPS) and remote sensing provide us with powerful tools for data collection and analysis that can be incorporated into the County GIS. By combining the use of these spatial technologies, Richland County is creating a dynamic map of the physical and cultural landscape of our community. Our ‘geo-place’ is Richland County. Thus, RC GEO recognizes the characterization of our geo-place with geo-technologies. RC GEO encompasses more than just GIS.

GIS and Related Technologies
RC GEO staff utilize GIS, GPS, and remote sensing technologies every day. For those not familiar with such technologies, a little history and background may help (...more than you ever wanted to know!).

RC GEO Plan and Framework
The Richland County GIS program was initiated in 1999. At that time, a County-wide assessment of potential users, applications, data, and coordination was executed. The results of the assessment were presented to City and County Administrators and Department Directors. The original effort was to include multiple participants such as the County, City of Columbia, and the University of South Carolina. The presentation of the original Implementation Plan in the Spring of 1999 is viewed as the beginning of the formal GIS program in Richland County. As GIS development moves forward, the Implementation Plan will be updated to reflect changes in technology, budget parameters, thematic changes, and integration in various departments.

The County-wide GIS program is designed for and is being implemented around a framework that includes a small number of GIS professionals, several data custodians, and many end users. The GIS staff within the IT (Information Technologies) Department is developing the base layers under several multi-year contracts. As layers are established, maintenance procedures and applications are also developed for individual departments that are tasked with maintaining one or more thematic layers. These discipline-specific department users become the data custodians and are responsible for maintaining the geographic and database elements of layers. As changes in a layer occur in departmental databases, custodians update layers in a central IT repository. For instance, the Planning Department GIS Staff are responsible for maintaining street centerlines, county council districts, municipalities, and other GIS layers that aid in the Subdivision review process. In addition, the Planning Department's GIS staff manage the digital data submission process and help to ensure that plans are submitted in accordance with the Richland County Digital Data Submission Standards. The Assessor's Office GIS personnel are responsible for maintaining all data associated with land records and property ownership. Within the Public Works Department, GIS Staff are responsible for maintaining stormwater datasets such as pipe infrastructure, outfalls, ditches, and management of the pavement management program. In addition to the Planning Department, the Assessor's Office, and Public Works, other departments such as the Sheriff's Department, Utilities, and Vector Control maintain data layers that apply to their thematic discipline. Data are maintained on a centralized geographic database and distributed by the IT/GIS staff to County users as well as to citizens.

RC GEO Projects
What are we working on now? As the program moves forward, we will maintain brief summaries of GIS-related projects online.

To view our online documents…
Throughout our website, users have the opportunity to view large maps, documents, and presentations that have been created by RC GEO staff. These information products are accessible online in Adobe Acrobat format. The Adobe Acrobat Reader (web browser plug-in or independent software application) is available for FREE at: www.adobe.com).