2025 WA GIS Conference

One of the most challenging things about using Python in GIS is, it's hard to know if you're really getting better. Or rather, knowing how to get better is hard. In the same way that many of us spent a lot of time, ""wanting to learn Python"" but not knowing where to start. Or ""learning Python"" and not knowing how to apply the language at work.

This presentation is the presentation that I wished I would have had when starting my geospatial Python journey. It is a brief review of the developer practices that I've picked up along the way. We'll cover the following:

• Conda & Using ArcPy in an IDE
• Formatters & Linters
• Logging
• Version Control
• Functions & Type Hinting
• Secrets Management

Esri’s support for Python offers a number of opportunities for automating everyday tasks and generating reports. From reporting to pushing data around, generating ID values in ArcGIS Online or making calls to web APIs, this presentation is intended to introduce you to some of the tools and approaches to automating common (and not so common) tasks. Using lots of examples, the presenter will walk you through resources, how you can get started, things to watch out for, and how to run your automation tools effectively.

In this presentation, I'll share how I developed an automated workflow using ArcGIS Pro ModelBuilder and Python scripting to tackle the challenge of integrating and spatially aligning sewer tap data for the City of Kent. I aimed to create a robust solution that seamlessly merges tabular data from external sources with our existing spatial datasets, ensuring accuracy and consistency across our databases. My process started by importing and processing the tabular sewer tap information, which includes details such as asset IDs, measurement values, and timestamps. I then joined this data with the spatial sewer main features, enabling me to calculate precise tap locations along the sewer lines. I incorporated data filtering and statistical analysis to determine maximum distances, and I established a linear referencing system to accurately position tap points. I utilized custom Python scripts and Arcade expressions to derive attributes such as the directionality of the tap point from the line (DownLRC – left, right, or center) and identifying the most recent tap record (IsLatest). I focused on achieving accurate spatial alignment by generating route event layers, accounting for both on-line and offset tap locations. Finally, this process is scheduled to run on a weekly basis using VisualCron, where the newly processed tap data is appended to the existing sewer tap point feature class, effectively updating our geodatabase. This automated solution has significantly reduced manual data entry and processing time, minimized errors, and enhanced the spatial accuracy of Kent’s sewer infrastructure data. By integrating external data sources and implementing rigorous spatial analysis, I've created a reliable and efficient method for displaying up-to-date and accurate sewer tap information, thus assisting our field crews with regular pipeline inspections and maintenance.

This presentation is intended for anyone interested in using or learning more about Field Maps for ArcGIS for field data collection. The topics to be covered include:
• Database design including the creation of join tables and domains.
• Important considerations in web map creation.
• How the underlying database and web map design influence how Field Maps interacts with the data.
• How to write and implement Arcade expressions.
• How to create layer filters.
• Offline use.
• Exporting photo attachments stored in the database to a file folder.

Don’t have AVL on your snowplows but wish you could provide near-real-time updates to internal staff and your residents? One method for accomplishing this will be discussed. The solution utilizes ArcGIS Enterprise, QuickCapture, a SQL Server-based enterprise geodatabase and Dashboards.

The King County IT GIS Center supports thousands of GIS users across 17 different county departments. To help track Esri user licenses, understand user activity, and support the transition from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro, the GIS Center built the GIS License Manager application. This custom application was built using some code and does neat stuff, ties into users’ Microsoft Entra ID accounts, and reports usage for individual users down to the minute.

In addition to granular reporting, the data from this application has been aggregated into a hosted table in ArcGIS Online and used to display platform usage over time in two ArcGIS Online dashboards. These insights help the GIS Center leadership, GIS managers, and users understand what platforms are in use, and what teams might need additional help transitioning from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro.

Join us as we discuss the technical details behind building the GIS License Manager application and obtaining usage minutes from ArcMap, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and ArcGIS Enterprise. We’ll also go into detail about the creation of the aggregated data dashboards using ArcGIS Online Dashboards, Arcade data expressions, and Experience Builder for display on our King County State of GIS Hub Site. https://state-of-gis.kingcounty.gov/pages/gislm

This presentation showcases the evolution of drone-based GIS, moving beyond traditional 2D aerial imagery to create rich 3D models by exploring Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) lidar technology. Attendees will gain valuable insights into the combined use of these hardware platforms and explore standard processing techniques, such as Structure from Motion (SfM) and the innovative 3D Gaussian Splatting method. The session will highlight practical workflows and feature examples of 3D models that have been generated.

I am currently serving a one-year internship for the Cultural Resources Division of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. With no permanent GIS staff member in the division, my goal has been to establish data management and best practices for GIS data.

The Cultural Affairs Division monitors agency projects for possible impacts to archeologically significant areas and artifacts. When a project is first proposed, division archeologists determine the likelihood of disturbance to cultural sites and whether surveys have been performed, or a site survey is needed. Much of the data is Category 3 and needs to be handled securely. We work closely with tribal governments and Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. My job is to manage geographic data for these projects.

After coming on board, my first task was to find out where and how the geographic data was being stored. I found that the data was spread out over several folders on servers (in various formats), and as zipped shapefiles attached to project tickets. There was no central, searchable location for the data.

To begin the process of organizing the data, I turned to ArcGIS Online for its versatility. I was able quickly add geodata to create a master map of Cultural Affairs projects accessible to team members.

Now I am taking data management for the division to the next level by creating a geodatabase, with customized fields and domains, to house our data. The database will reside on our SQL server and will be highly searchable.

This position has provided me with a great opportunity to build a GIS operation from the ground up. At times it has challenging, but I have enjoyed the process. My goal is to create a GIS that works for everyone in the division who needs it to do their job

Emails, phone calls, drop-ins, notes…GIS professionals get mapping and data requests in all kinds of ways. It can be extremely challenging to manage all these requests, and hard to identify ROI. Enter the new GIS Request Management solution from Esri.

In the short time that we have deployed this solution at the City of Tumwater we have noticed a huge difference. It has simplified our day-to-day work by organizing all requests in one place. We went from an Excel file, flagged emails in Outlook, lists on OneNote, literal notes, and coworkers stopping by our desks to request projects to a streamlined process with this solution. GIS Request Management helps us identify and communicate how our projects align with our organization’s goals, and demonstrates our ROI by keeping track of time spent on each project.

This presentation will discuss implementation, usage, custom configurations, and our successes and challenges as we transitioned from a disorganized system to this solution.

Discover how Yakima County made the move from a custom platform for parcel maintenance to a modern, efficient and well-supported environment. Learn about the process of migrating to the new parcel management platform, the impact the County has seen as a result, and what’s next for parcel management at Yakima County.

In a world where AI has become as ubiquitous as towels are to interstellar hitchhikers, Christopher Moravec stands ready to guide you through the galaxy of possibilities and pitfalls.

"Don't Panic, It's Just AI: A Developer's Handbook" is your essential guide to navigating the often bewildering landscape of artificial intelligence. More controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy "Where AI Came From," "Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes," and "Who is this Siri Person Anyway?", this handbook is for any developer looking to harness AI without resorting to Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters to cope with the absurdity.

Through real-world examples, Christopher will show you how to use AI as a practical tool—from writing code with chatbots to generating sensible map names—while also revealing what AI excels at, where it falls short, and when to leave it out of your toolkit entirely.

Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, join us and, remember: Don't Panic, and always know where your towel is.

The Forest Practices Division of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources issue permits for forest practices on private and state forest land. Our office staff, who process permits on a tight deadline and report out stats, needed a way to quickly and easily query our Oracle database data when they had no direct access and no SQL experience. They also had no ArcGIS Online access or experience. We pursued using Power BI to create a user-friendly dashboard with user-controlled filters, but hit a brick wall when it was discovered that our agency had no budget for a data gateway. In other words, we had no way to connect our behind-the-firewall Oracle data to the cloud where Power BI could ingest it. What we did have was an SDE/ArcGIS Enterprise, allowing us to access our Oracle data in ArcGIS Portal. So, after learning a little about m-code and a lot about pagination, we were able to connect our Portal feature services to Power BI via REST API, allowing us to create custom dashboards and reports that we could then embed in Microsoft Teams for easy viewing and access for all staff members at no additional cost to our divison.

My experience creating a virtual duplicate of the TPU Campus. I will highlight what made us begin this project, the steps that went into creating the indoor map, the challenges I had to face and overcome as I went through the steps, where are we now and where do we want to go in the future with this project.

The opioid epidemic continues to be a great challenge within the field of public health. To facilitate an effective, unified response, that spans across many organizations that provide different services related to the opioid response and prevention, Kitsap Public Health District (KPHD) has undertaken conducting a network analysis. By implementing a network analysis, such an understanding can enhance a community’s capacity to combine diverse knowledge and skills to come up with effective solutions to complex problems… be responsive to community needs, arrive at consensus across community divisions, organize collective tasks, and coordinate services efficiently (Provan et al. 2005, p. 604). KPHD plays a supportive role to unite organizations involved in the opioid response through quarterly gatherings. With a supportive response to facilitate a network analysis in the initial meeting, KPHD had begun to develop and implement a data collection tool. This tool, based loosely from the data collection tool used in Proven et al. (2005), has allowed KPHD to obtain information on an organization’s location, services offered, as well as all other organizations that are within that organization’s network. This data is entered into Excel spreadsheets that are linked into ArcGIS that allows the usage of geoprocessing tools that generate organizational point and connection line layers on a map. This network analysis map has provided a new way to visualize relationships at a quick glance, as well as helping strained and siloed organizations who are parts of a whole system better know who else is part of their system and gives them a tool to aid in recognizing the relationships they have and in forming new ones. This network map tool has an additional potential in helping organizations show their affiliation within the network to further leverage themselves in grant funding opportunities.

Provan, K. G., Veazie, M. A., Staten, L. K., & Teufel-Shone, N. I. (2005). The Use of Network Analysis to Strengthen Community Partnerships. Public Administration Review, 65(5), 603–613. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3542526

Washington State Department of Health (WADOH) operates two vital vaccine programs: the Adult Vaccine Program (AVP), offering free vaccines to uninsured adults aged 19 and older, and the Childhood Vaccine Program (CVP), ensuring all children under 19 receive routine immunizations at no cost. These programs are essential for equitable access to vaccines, preventing vaccine-preventable diseases, and reducing health disparities across the state.

To support these programs, WADOH originally developed a custom JavaScript application that allowed residents to locate nearby vaccine providers. However, maintaining this app was challenging due to limited staff with specialized coding skills. Beyond technical constraints, WADOH’s commitment to align with the CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) priorities necessitated migration to ArcGIS Experience Builder.

We used Experience Builder’s the drag-and-drop functionality and responsive design capabilities to create a modern vaccine provider locator web app optimized for mobile devices. This tool expands accessibility for individuals relying on smartphones and tablets to access vaccine information. Public health planners may also use the app to visually identify geographic gaps in provider coverage, enabling targeted resource allocation to areas of greatest need. This aligns with DMI’s goal to support actionable public health decision-making to promote health equity. In addition, by transitioning from a legacy system to Experience Builder, we ensured sustainability, scalability, and responsiveness to evolving technological needs and emerging public health threats.

This presentation will showcase the app’s development workflow, highlight key features, discuss accessibility considerations, and explore its role in advancing public health goals statewide.

At Pierce County Spatial Services, we continually strive to automate repetitive tasks to allocate resources for more meaningful work. Spatial Services provides GIS for all Pierce County residents, county staff and elected officials. We are comprised of data management, customer support, development solutions and asset management experts who work in tandem to provide high quality GIS services to the county.

Our ArcGIS online (AGO) platform supports over 500 county staff users and the general public. Our AGO environment and users are primarily managed by a single employee. The continual rotation of county staff demands consistent user access and content management. This level of user management grew to an unwieldy regular task and diverted resources from other work. This has become especially true with new administrative structures that have required closer attention to our users, content and licensing in the AGO platform.
We integrated many ArcGIS python api administrative processes into our regular scheduled tasks, to increase efficiency and effectiveness of user management.
This presentation will go over 2 easily adoptable, straight-forward examples of how the api can be used to automate user management.

Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau (WSRB) is an independent, not-for-profit, public service organization serving Washington state. We help insurers and their customers by providing objective data on multiple risk factors. Our services enable insurers to evaluate risk efficiently and effectively, giving their policyholders peace of mind by making sure insurance rates are fair and non-discriminatory. WSRB is not connected with any insurance company except to the extent that insurers operating within Washington state can subscribe to our services; ownership of WSRB is vested in a subscriber trust agreement that is approved by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC).

WSRB leverages GIS extensively to achieve to provide subscribers with trusted information, enhancing their decision-making. This presentation will highlight how GIS architecture and processes ensure precise and timely data for WSRB customers.