New editions of the Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island portions of the National Road Network were recently released. The datasets are available at the GeoBase Web site, as always free of charge and restrictions. Data Change Management files between 2007-06 and 2008-06 releases are also provided for these datasets.
National Hydro Network (NHN) data for more than 900 of Canada’s 1,150 drainage areas are now available, without cost nor restrictions, at the GeoBase Web site. The June release is the second of four data releases scheduled in 2008 to complete the national coverage.
The usage of data from the first release has been impressive. The number of downloaded NHN datasets surpassed a record 10,000 this past March, more than triple January’s downloads.
And the word continues to spread across the country.
Last month, NHN Project manager Yves Belzile was asked to speak about the NHN in a session entitled “Data integration and management: problems and solutions” at the Canadian Hydrographic Conference in Victoria, B.C.
Danielle Sabourin, a senior project officer at NRCan’s Centre for Topographic Information in Sherbrooke, was featured at this month’s 2008 GeoTec Conference in Ottawa. In an Executive Decision Support session focused on Water management, Sabourin presented, “The NHN: Description, Implementation Strategy, Project Status and Future Plans.”
And, this week on the Prairies, NHN Project officer Bruno Simoneau is delivering a presentation entitled “The NHN: A Must for Water Management in Canada” at the 61st Annual Conference of the Canadian Water Resources Association in Gimli, Manitoba.
All three speakers are explaining the value of NHN geospatial data that describes and models features of Canada’s inland surface-water system, including:
• hydro features, such as lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, canals and islands;
• the directional flow of surface water through a drainage linear network; and
• the toponymy — geographical names — of hydro features.
In emergency situations such as flooding or toxic spills, NHN data can be used to monitor conditions and to assist decision makers in minimizing flood damage or optimizing control of a spill. For planning purposes, the NHN can help determine the most effective location for a dam or power plant. NHN data can also be an important tool in managing and monitoring drinking water and fresh water supplies.