GIS: A useful tool in urban water management

Abstract

The chapter talks about the role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the development of urban water management. Use of spatial data in electronic format has replaced the old process of studying hard copy maps and other documents to gather information to solve urban water issues. The chapter introduces GIS, GIS data and GIS operations to the reader and then goes on to talk about the role of GIS in urban water management. GIS can analyze the spatial data itself or preprocess it as input data for urban water management models. The chapter talks about how GIS can be integrated with urban water management models and also how other tools can play a role in this system to enhance urban water management decisions. The integration of GIS and the urban water management models is very productive though it has some challenges of its own.