The Map Query System (MQS)

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A Better Tool For Finding Information On The Web

The Problem

Looking for something you need on the World Wide Web (WWW) can be a maddening experience. It can be an amplified version of a trip to a super-store or mega-mall. For people that love to go shopping for pure recreational pleasure, the mega-stores are dreams-come-true. For other folks simply trying to find a specific product or item, these stores are nightmares-become-reality. It's like dying of thirst when you're in the middle of the ocean. You are surrounded by too much stuff that doesn't help solve your problem. For many of us, finding information on the web is just that type of experience. There are vast numbers of organizations offering a myriad of services and data sources. But how do you find what you really need and where is the information provided ready-to-use?

Some Solutions and New Tools

If you're interested in a specific location in Montana and want to access information on water, land, and other natural resources around that location, there are several new web-based tools available. This article will focus on the Source Water Protection (SWP) Map Query System (MQS), developed cooperatively by DEQ's Source Water Protection Program and the State Library's NRIS Program. There are other web-based applications available from NRIS that are not discussed in this article but will be of interest to the reader. They can be accessed at http://nris.state.mt.us/interactive.html.

The Map Query System (MQS)

The MQS makes it easy to find a specific public water supply (PWS) and display information that exists for the surrounding area. A variety of information can be displayed including:

  • Septic tank density
  • Underground Storage Tanks (UST) with leaking tanks (LUST) identified
  • Petroleum pipelines
  • Wells in the area with reports on average depth and the number of wells drilled each year

In addition to this list, more than twenty other data sets can be accessed through the MQS (see Figure 2). The MQS was developed to help evaluate each PWS's susceptibility to potential contaminant sources. However, the MQS is a useful tool for displaying information that can help answer a wide range of questions related to land and water resources.

How The MQS Works

Basically, the MQS builds a map after the user makes three selections. First, the user picks the PWS of interest from a list, then selects the size of the area around the PWS that is of interest, and then chooses the principal data layer to be displayed on a map. For example, Figure 1 shows the MQS main menu. After you select a PWS name, in this case City of Billings, you click on the button labeled "Select By Name" to move to a screen (not shown) that lets you select the size of the area of interest. This area is referred to as a buffer distance. As soon as a buffer distance is selected, the MQS presents a data list (Figure 2). Any data layer selected from the list is displayed on the map within the buffer zone. For example, selecting "Groundwater Wells" in Figure 2 prompts the MQS to display a simple map of the Billings area within the buffer zone and includes major roads, streams, hydrologic unit boundaries, Public Water Supplies, and MBMG well log locations (Figure 3). More well information can be displayed by clicking on any of the report options (blue text) located near the lower center of the map screen (Figure 3). To select another layer to display, simply click on the "New Data" button, in the upper left of the screen.

You can also move around on the map by using the "pan and zoom" buttons above the map frame. To use these features you must first click on the button and then on the map. You can also display data records for any point or feature on the map by using the "Identify" feature. Like pan and zoom, you click the "Identify" button, located immediately to the right of each data layer in the legend, and then click on the feature of interest on the map.

There are a lot of features built into the MQS and other web-based tools that make them valuable tools for addressing a variety of questions and issues. The URL or web address for the MQS is http://nris.state.mt.us/wis/swap/swapquery.asp. Give the MQS and other web-based tools a test drive. You will find they can make time spent on the web more productive. If you have questions on how to use the MQS, contact the SWP Program at (406) 444-6697

Summary and Acknowledgements

The MQS, and other web-based applications, take advantage of the web to streamline access to decentralized sources of information and improve public access to public data. It is important to acknowledge that the effort to develop and test this type of web-base application was spearheaded by the NRIS program at the State Library. It is equally important to understand that cooperative efforts between multiple state and federal agencies and NRIS have made it possible to refine the tools and greatly improve access to the two dozen databases listed in Figure 2. Future cooperative efforts will add new data sources to the list, improve accuracy of geographic location data, and expand the number of hyperlinks to external sources.

SWP Query System
Study Area Map
Well Data