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Beaver County, Alberta
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Like many rural communities, Beaver County, and its surrounding towns and villages, relies on a resource-based economy, primarily agriculture, with some natural gas. The economic activity, however, tends to follow a 'boom and bust' cycle that is exacerbated by a sparse, spread-out population. In 1999 the local councillors of Ryley, Tofield, Viking, Holden and Beaver County decided to learn more about how GeoConnections' Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) could help their communities. "The former mayor of Ryley, Elston Solberg, was the chief driver behind the project," says Martin Baert, Agricultural Fieldman with Beaver County. "The councillors saw it as a way of ensuring that the rural areas kept pace with developments that were happening in the larger urban centres." Through its membership with SCI, Beaver County and its |
With SCI's assistance, Beaver County purchased the necessary hardware, software, digital road maps and cadastral base maps, and provided GIS training to several staff members. "Having SCI was a major step and I don't think that the County would have been comfortable taking this step on its own." SCI also assisted with its mentoring program that introduces new SCI communities to existing ones. Beaver County was paired with the Town of Okotoks. "Okotoks was a big help in informing our politicians and ratepayers what the project was able to do for them and the types of benefits we could expect from it," says Mr. Baert.
But a stumbling block stood in their path. "Although sharing information is still part of our plan, the lack of broadband Internet in rural Alberta has moved us in a new direction," explains Mr. Baert. What they discovered was the value of GIS as a planning tool for municipal government.
The benefits were realized in sometimes unexpected ways. For example, the ability to produce their own up-to-date maps has saved on printing costs. "Before this project we'd get several thousand copies made every four or five years but by the time they were all sold they were outdated and of limited use," Mr. Baert says. "Now we can customize our maps to show whatever data is needed." The County has also used GIS to locate new livestock operations. Using groundwater assessment data, new operations can be placed in areas that won't contaminate drinking water, protecting the County's natural resources and saving employee time since development applications can now be processed more efficiently.
Mr. Baert believes, however, that the biggest benefit has been the ability to project land-use information visually. Property and road based information can be shown at council meetings. Pertinent spatial data can be generated and displayed using a data projector to provide dynamic decision-making information. Council is immediately updated on the progress of municipal activities and projects because maps, showing 'what if' scenarios that can often be generated 'on the fly' at a meeting. "We have the databases and the pictures which puts a whole new dimension on things. It's easier for councillors - they're familiar with their own wards - but it's really a great tool to help them get a better understanding of what's happening in other areas of the County."