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SpatialNews.com Press Release
The Centre for Sustainable Watersheds and DM Solutions Group launch the Watersheds InfoXchange
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Portland, ON – April 4, 2005 -–The Centre for Sustainable Watersheds (CSW), a non-profit environmental organization in Portland and DM Solutions, an Ottawa based company specializing in Open Source solutions, announced today the launch of the Watersheds InfoXchange (WIX). WIX, which has been in development for more than a year, is an interactive online tool for managing water quality monitoring data and accessing provincial and national datasets.
”Anyone can log on to WIX at www.ontariowatersheds.ca to access natural resource data, including Environment Canada’s NatureWatch, Ontario’s Lake Partner Program, and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resource data. And membership is free,” said Sarah Rosolen, Executive Director of CSW.
“Users will also be able to access monitoring protocols and input their own water quality data and also view organization profiles to learn what others are working on in their watershed - this will empower communities to become more involved in protection of their water resources.”
While WIX will initially be available in Ontario, several groups across Canada have expressed interest in having their own WIX. They can do this easily because it was developed with Open Source Software - based on the philosophy that the programming source code is available to everyone at no cost. Open Source ensures continual technological improvement, as developers actively improve and enhance the software.
“The Watersheds InfoXchange is an excellent tool for communities, said David McIlhagga, President of DM Solutions Group. “The ability to provide and share water quality data relevant to a specific area will bring tremendous benefits to all stakeholders from the local community to national organizations. DM Solutions Group is proud to have been involved in the development of such an exciting project.”
CSW received financial support and guidance from GeoConnections for the development of WIX. Led by Natural Resources Canada, GeoConnections
(www.geoconnections.org) is a national partnership initiative to build the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI), and make Canada’s geographic data, applications and services readily accessible online.
WIX is an excellent example of how the CGDI is empowering Canadian citizens and communities by enabling them to access and apply location-based information for better knowledge and decision-making.
This project is also supported by the Federal Government On-Line initiative - RésEau, an Environment Canada-led demonstration initiative to integrate water quality, quantity and use data to provide Canadians with a consistent, credible web-based water information source. WIX also received support from Environment Canada’s Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network Coordinating Office, Human Resources Skills Development Canada, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Stewardship, Hewlett Packard, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
CSW consulted numerous community groups and government agencies in the design. “This application has been designed by community, for community”, said Rosolen. “We also hope the map-based organization directory will be a place for people to learn about the great water resource protection work happening in Ontario.”
About Centre for Sustainable Watersheds
CSW is a non-governmental, non-profit organization, dedicated to facilitating community involvement in water resource protection in Canada. For more information, visit the new and improved www.watersheds.ca
About DM Solutions Group
A major provider of Web and desktop mapping solutions, DM Solutions Group Inc. leads the development of Open Source mapping technology.
Using its Web mapping toolkit, which includes tools like MapServer, Chameleon, and MapLab, DM Solutions Group works with organizations wanting to deploy Web mapping infrastructures that incorporate geospatial data from any server, anywhere in the world. Founded in 1998, DM Solutions Group is headquartered in Ottawa and operates an office in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada. For more information, visit www.dmsolutions.ca.
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