Development and Application of a Water Resources Project Information System

A stand-alone water resources project information system, with several capabilities similar to that of a conventional GIS, has been developed. The system enables the user to store, analyze and display spatial information pertaining to a dam-based water resource project. The utility of the system has been illustrated with reference to its application to Sathanur Reservoir Project (Tamil Nadu, India). The database module of the Sathanur Reservoir Project Information System, SRPIS-DBM, enables the user to manipulate and update the database of the project on a real time basis. SRPIS has 31 pre-designed forms which enable cognition of a wide variety of data. The user can browse and print the existing information through forms, tables and reports, as one does when using MS Access. One has all the dynamism, flexibility, fluency and user-friendliness that distinguish MS Access. Another unique feature of SRPIS is a novel EIA sub-module which is integrated with the software's database module. The environmental impact assessment ratings of the Sathanur reservoir project can be directly fed into this module by various observers: experts, end users and other groups. The personal details of each observer are stored in the table EIA_Personaldetails and the EIA ratings are stored in a yet another table called EIA-Matrix. In the latter, the values are saved cumulatively for each village and for each category of the observer. The map module of SRPIS, SRPIS-Mapper, has been designed specially for GIS requirements. The user can browse through various facets of SRPIS as map layers, thematic features, the attribute data related to these maps, hydraulic designs of Sathanur reservoir and information on tourist interests in-and-around Sathanur. All the maps have been designed to be self explanatory, with emphasis on clear legends and map scales. However, in SRPIS one can not edit, manipulate or create new thematic maps. To get around this shortcoming, installation of MapInfo Proviewer 6.5 and downloading of SRPIS Map Data from the SRPIS installation CD-ROM disk has been incorporated.