The creation of the unified 3 Rivers Wet Weather Sewer Atlas dataset inspired several ideas for public outreach at ALCOSAN. In 2017, after the successful launch and operation of the Sewer Atlas, ALCOSAN was interested in the opportunity to use the map for public outreach during public events. Through 3 Rivers Wet Weather, CivicMapper proposed the idea of creating a web map application that uses the Sewer Atlas data to visualize the path a toilet flush takes on its way to the sewage treatment facility from any address within ALCOSAN’s service area. The result was the Flush-It: an interactive and exploratory web map that invites users to enter an address or place name and visualize the flush to the treatment facility. The app uses the Sewer Atlas trace function to map the wastewater flow pathway. Information about the pathway, including time, distance, and areas crossed by the flush are also provided.

See the tool in action here or here.

CivicMapper developed this application using our FlushMap software that taps an available sewer network tracing API to provide network trace summary information to the end user.