GIS Mapping - mise à jour

Algoma Public Health (APH) has been using GIS mapping in many of their programs for years. Each year a new use for mapping is found, which helps focus resources and assess risk and need in various areas of the District of Algoma, as well as ensure the most efficient use of staff and resources. A few examples of APH projects that use GIS include Public Health Inspector zone mapping, the study of lead in water mains, the West Nile virus surveillance program and the GIS septic system recording tool.

Public Health Inspector zone maps are created for APH showing the geographic areas assigned to Public Health Inspectors. These are mapped by inspection frequencies of the premises that are inspected on a regular basis (food premises, personal service settings, group homes, daycares, long term care homes, pools and spas, recreational camps and small drinking water systems). This mapping ensures a fair dispersal of the workload for PHIs, according to the inspection programs defined by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

Another example of mapping that has helped both APH and the City of Sault Ste. Marie Public Utility Commission (PUC) was the study of lead in water mains. The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) worked with the PUC to map all the water mains within the city. When the direction came from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to sample the high risk water mains that may have high levels of lead, the SSMIC was able to produce a map that highlighted all the known lead service lines, and the unknown service lines. The map was also able to assess the age of homes and the construction year so that sampling could take place in the most high risk areas to protect public health. By using simple GIS queries, information was gathered efficiently to find the homes that are the most at risk for lead presence in water.

When the province of Ontario started the West Nile (WN) virus surveillance program, APH set up traps in the District to capture mosquitoes for further analysis. Maps were reviewed to locate the most susceptible areas to place traps, and trap results were recorded over time. A 2008 mosquito trap results map is available on APH’s website and shows the number of captured WN virus-spreading mosquitoes (Culex) and other mosquitoes. The WN virus mapping showed that WN virus-carrying mosquitoes were more prevalent in urban centres than in rural areas. Additional maps were created to show the location of underground transformers that act as breeding grounds for mosquitoes. SSMIC provided these maps to APH so further analysis could be done. A larvicide program was put into place to eliminate the transformers as a mosquito breeding ground in Sault Ste. Marie. This program is still in effect and APH ensures that larvicide is applied to the transformer vaults every summer after verifying the presence of mosquito larvae. This program helps to control West Nile virus and protect public health in Sault Ste. Marie.

A tool was recently created to link APH’s septic system data to the GIS. Using this tool, APH can capture all necessary information about a septic system in a digital record, with a point location on a map. This tool provides health unit staff with the ability to look up records by roll number, PIN or address in seconds, saving them countless hours of searching through paper files. The septic system location is captured geographically using latitude and longitude coordinates recorded in the field by Public Health Inspectors. All necessary information about the septic system (date of installation, number of runs of pipes, etc.) is stored within the geographic record. With little knowledge of GIS software, health unit staff can enter and search records and view the results on a map. Route maps can be created and printed for Public Health Inspectors to ensure an efficient inspection route. This tool has the ability to keep families and the environment safe from contamination due to old or faulty septic systems.

For more information about any of the above projects, please contact Sherri Cleaves, Director, Environmental Health Programs.

Personnes-ressource :
Sherri Cleaves, Director of Environmental Health Programs, Algoma Public Health
Courriel : SCleaves(at)algomapublichealth.com

Kristen Hoffman, Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre
Courriel : khoffman(at)ssmic.com