Showcasing GLA-Data at New Mexico Water Data Initiative Workshop

In an application showcase, DBS&A GIS Manager Kenneth Calhoun, GISP, and Claudia Trueblood, PhD, from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), will co-present “From Detection to Direction: Guiding Water Protection with Online Data Tools.” DBS&A professionals will attend and speak at the 2025 New Mexico Water Data Initiative Workshop to be held October 14-15, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The workshop offers discussions, demonstrations, and training, with a focus on water data management and use.

In an application showcase, DBS&A GIS Manager Kenneth Calhoun, GISP, and Claudia Trueblood, PhD, from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), will co-present “From Detection to Direction: Guiding Water Protection with Online Data Tools.” The talk will present and demonstrate the online application, highlighting key challenges encountered and how they were addressed, as well as enhancements made over time to expand the tool’s capabilities.

About the Data Management Project

The presentation will focus on DBS&A’s collaborative work on the NMED’s Emerging Contaminants Program (ECP). This program monitors per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants in Public Water Systems (PWS’) across New Mexico. DBS&A is supporting ECP in a statewide effort to sample drinking water at 630 water systems over a 2-year period. Depending on the type of system, 2 to 4 samples will be collected at various times within a 12-month period, covering more than 1,300 entry points to the distribution systems..

To manage the resulting data, DBS&A uses a comprehensive, web-accessible database management system (DBMS) called GLA-Data. This online application was developed by DBS&A to store, visualize, map, manage, and report environmental data. Integration of these data into GLA-Data will enable the ECP to readily map, access, and interact with data through custom queries and analysis tools providing visual and graphic outputs.