Schuylkill River Land and Water Emergency Response Location System

The goal was to establish an emergency management information system that would allow land and water-based travelers to accurately communicate their location to emergency service personnel in the five-county Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area. The system will be part of an integrated GIS tracking system used by state, county, and local municipalities and 911 staff. The designers first developed a nomenclature system for the location indicators and pedestrian and river trails, and then formulated detailed guidelines for their use on signs, buildings, and bridges. Location indicator numbers along the river and water (pedestrian) trails need to be unique in the same manner as a street address. Although street addresses mark each side of a road, a location indicator system on a river has to mark the center of the river as well as both sides of the river. An additional challenge was to distinguish the main river addresses from tributaries, allowing the system to be used off the main river.