DHEC celebrates GIS Day 2023

November 15 is GIS Day, and we wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate DHEC’s own Geographic Information System (GIS) team.  

The seven-member GIS Section is overseen by GIS Section Manager Ken Compton. ​ 

“I believe that being able to map and transform data into visual products creates a valuable asset to our DHEC Employees and for South Carolina residents as a whole,” Ken said.  

“GIS provides opportunities to create products such as simple locate applications, complex data dashboards and even embraces newer technologies like transforming drone flights into 3D maps,” he said. “All of these capabilities give my staff the ability to make a difference for the health and well-being in the everyday lives of all South Carolinians.”  

On a routine basis for internal clients, the GIS team creates web applications using a variety of data types. The Enterprise GIS infrastructure employed is a full mapping and analytics platform that shares spatial information and analysis on any device at any time.  

For external customers, they offer web application tools to better understand topics such as watershed dynamics, point and non-point source pollution, permitting protocols, community health profiles, cancer rates and population demographics.  

Recent Accomplishments
To highlight just a few of their accomplishments over the past year, the GIS team enhanced the Inpatient and ICU Bed utilization dashboard,the PFAS internal and external web applications and unveiled the BLWM Public Records Locator Tool. The Public Records web application provides open access to currently available spatial information that the BLWM inventories.   

In addition, GIS Team Member, Samuel Nyarkoh received a 2023 Director’s Award for thinking “without the box” to create a new and creative digital solution to assist our Ocean and Coastal Resource Management’s Emergency Operations staff in quickly assessing habitable buildings, pools and erosion-control structures in the aftermath of hurricanes and tropical storms. 

The latter is a great example of how GIS is used during emergency response to assist with ongoing updates on damage assessment and needs. During crisis events, the team also provides leadership with additional mobile collection applications and status dashboards.  

Learn More
Check out this story map to explore the GIS web applications on your own.   

According to Jack Dangermond, Eris GIS software founder: “As we continue advancing and leveraging GIS, we’re going to achieve extraordinary things. The application of GIS is limited only by the imagination of those who use it.”