Cameroonian Water Distribution Digitization

Digitizing networks is an important, often laborious and sometimes painful step. It is essential to have a tool for the proper management of assets and for the operation of the drinking water supply system. It is a prerequisite for good network management by:

• Maintenance of documentation;
• Rapid visualization of the network and its environment;
• Analysis and printing of the thematic maps, types of pipelines, completed work (history) and projected work;
• Route surveying, subscriber monitoring, extension work; and
• Provision of data to third parties, such as design offices, companies, services and work coordination.

Camerounaise Des Eaux (CDE) recently digitized their drinking water networks in Douala and Yaoundé, the two major cities of Cameroon. These networks are a combined length of nearly 3,200 km. This network was inventoried, verified and digitized over a period of 10 months. Approximately 300 km were processed per month!

A local CDE team reported the network with a user-friendly, powerful and customizable software. The software allows fast digitization of the networks coupled with the creation of a database, which provides information on the condition of network assets and equipment.

Software

This software, developed by NOVEC in the AutoCAD environment, operates as a personalized menu with the ability to directly access a predefined library of drinking water supply system components, enabling rapid execution and ease of use for non-specialized operators.

It also can draw up synoptic diagrams of the drinking water supply system, provide details at nodes, and prepare various inventory statements of assets.