CHAPTER 5 - GROUNDWATER DATA ISSUES 



Cape Cod Aquifer Management Project Final Report Page 35 



force of the CCAMP participating agencies and other interested agencies 

 should be developed to identify key data elements and further define data 

 standards. Specific data standards are needed immediately for databases 

 relating to the following: 



- municipal tax assessment maps 



- observation wells 



- regulated facilities 



- water-quality data 



- spill-report information 



- land use 



These standards should cover data accessibility, key elements, georeferenc- 

 ing, and quality control. Common data structures should be identified and 

 utilized to facilitate data exchange. 



Existing studies and committees focusing on data integration within 

 DEQE, and cooperative efforts by the U. G. Geological Survey, Hazardous 

 Waste Facility Site Safety Council and Executive Office of Environmental 

 Affairs to establish a Massachusetts GIS have done valuable work for 

 establishing data standards. Further work which considers and expands 

 these efforts should be conducted by CCAMP participating agencies. 



5.3.3 Need for Information Coordination Function in DEQE and CCPEDC 



To encourage consistency across DEQE divisions, existing data coordina- 

 tion efforts within DEQE should focus intensively on technical issues 

 associated with data base structure, development and integration. All 

 Regional Planning Agencies (RPAs) should have a data coordinator to encour- 

 age consistency on data bases among towns and they should serve as the 

 resource for data availability and data management issues. 



5.3.4 Regional Consistency in Georeferenced Data 



RPAs should make efforts to achieve regional consistency regarding 

 georeferenced data. On Cape Cod, CCPEDC should assist towns on technical 

 mapping issues and host a workshop on this topic with assistance from the 

 CCAMP participating agencies. CCPEDC should encourage intertown coopera- 

 tion and participate in establishing mapping standards. 



A regional approach to creating and maintaining topographic, road and 

 assessor's base maps to meet the needs of the region would aid in data 

 integration efforts as needed for the development of a Geographic Infor- 

 mation System Project. Various coordinate systems such as longitude and 

 latitude, universal transverse mercator, and state-plane systems, all have 

 appropriate applications and can be utilized in a GIS. The choice of a 

 system for mapping particular features should be consistent regionwide. 

 Guidance on accurately using and selecting these systems should be provid- 

 ed by the RPA with assistance from DEQE, EPA, and USGS , where needed. 



