The American Surveyor

St. Charles Parish Overcomes GNSS Signal Shadow Issues with Trimble Floodlight Technology

PROJECT: Trimble Floodlight satellite shadow reduction technology enables St. Charles Parish Waterworks crews to maintain productivity in all mapping environments

SUMMARY: In an effort to improve the accuracy of its GIS maps, St. Charles Parish, La., purchased its own GNSS equipment. The parish Waterworks Department experienced outstanding results when mapping water infrastructure features—except when working beneath the parish’s towering oak trees, which deflected or blocked GNSS satellite signals. The parish upgraded to the Trimble® GeoExplorer® 6000 series of mapping GNSS handhelds with Trimble Floodlight™ technology and saw an immediate improvement in productivity and accuracy.

PROJECT DATE: Deployed in 2011

The last straw for St. Charles Parish, La., came when an underground water pipeline burst beneath a busy street. Traffic had to be diverted as the water continued to spill out onto the pavement. A half hour passed, and then another, before personnel from the Waterworks Department found the shutoff valve and stopped the deluge. The delay was caused by a faulty map that incorrectly showed the valve’s location on the other side of the street…

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