What general questions will the Rouge GIS answer

What general questions will the Rouge GIS answer?

The Rouge GIS will allow the project staff to answer questions concerning: (1) the characteristics of the watershed and related activities, (2) the spatial relationships of watershed activities and measured water quality conditions, (3) the trends of watershed conditions and (4) the cause and effect of the watershed activities on the river water quality.

Characteristics of the Watershed: Answers the question "what's here?" It can be used to identify geology, soil types, land uses, zoning, population densities, etc. . . at a particular location on the earth's surface. An example of a question the Rouge GIS could answer is "what's the land use at this location?" A user could choose the location on a map, display land use information on the computer screen, and find a wetland at that location.

Spatial Relationships: Answers the question "where is?" A GIS can select locations that satisfy certain conditions. An example of a question the Rouge GIS could answer is "Where is an area within 50 feet of the Rouge River with sandy soils and steep slopes?"

Trends of Conditions: Answers the question "what has happened?" GIS users can identify changes in conditions over time. An example of a question the Rouge GIS could answer is "how have land uses in the Rouge River watershed changed from 1978 to today?"

Cause and Effect of Activities: Answers the question to "what if" scenarios. This is often referred to as modeling. An example of a question the Rouge GIS will help answer is "If it rained an inch per hour for three days on a specific land use, what will be the impact on water quality?"

Please address all comments and suggestions about the contents of this Web page to rougeweb@co.wayne.mi.us.

The Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project is funded, in part, by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grants #XP995743-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -08 and C-264000-01.