Introduction

WaterMarque is a menu driven set of tools developed using GIS technology for the assessment, query, display and reporting of water quality information. It is based on water quality data collected throughout the country together with a range of geographical data sets for available background information.

WaterMarque consists of a set of menus that will allow users trained in water quality evaluation to access water quality and associated information, analyse that information and produce output maps.

WaterMarque was developed as a collaborative project between the following agencies: Institute for Water Quality Studies of the Department of Water and Sanitation, the CSIR Division of Water, Environment and Forestry Technology (Environmentek), Stewart Scott Incorporated, GisLAB (formerly of the University of Pretoria), and GIMS (Pty) Ltd. of Midrand.

The system was prototyped by the Institute for Water Quality Studies and stabilised by GIMS under contract to the Institute. Installation and a hotline support service are provided by GIMS.

WaterMarque uses various datasets obtained from the following agencies: Department of Water and Sanitation, National Botanical Institute, the Chief Director of Surveys and Land Information, the CSIR, the Water Research Commission and the University of Natal. A more detailed description of the datasets, copyright notices and usage limitations with respect to the system data dictionary are in the appendix.

WaterMarque main screen and initial menus

The WaterMarque main screen has a number of elements that are visible throughout the session.

The main elements, some of which are shown above, are:

• The main screen which consists of:
  • the mapping area which shows the primary catchment areas of South Africa
  • blank area to the right which is used to display diagrams and map legends when required
• The locational inset map in the bottom right-hand corner
• The Main menu bar on the left
• The message dialogue box in the bottom left-hand corner
• The Panzoom menu at the centre bottom of the screen.

Main mapping area

• The main mapping area, which fills most of the monitor screen, consists of a large map area on the left-hand side of the monitor, where spatial data are displayed, such as:
  • monitoring point data
  • cities and towns
  • symbols representing water quality data
  • other spatial data such as veld types
• An area to the right of the map, which is blank at start up, is used to display
  • legends
  • diagrams, when required

Locational inset map

In the lower right-hand corner of the main screen is the locational inset map. This map indicates the extent that the map being drawn on the main screen occupies relative to the whole of South Africa. This is particularly useful as you zoom in or pan across catchments.

The extent of the large main map is indicated on the locational map of South Africa by a red hatched box.

Panzoom menu

The Panzoom menu provides access to generic facilities for changing the extent of the area displayed on the main map.

The facilities include :

• Zoom in / zoom out on a point location
• Pan about the map in any direction
• Previous / Forward allows you to return to previous areas viewed

Main menu bar

The Main menu bar is always located at the left of the screen.

The menu icons or buttons are as follows :

• Redefine catchment:
  • Provides access to the on-screen catchment selection routines
• Monitoring point selection and display:
  • Provides access to the monitoring point data and display routines. It also provides access to the various analysis and statistical routines available within WaterMarque.
• Feature selection and display:
  • Provides access to routines allowing the addition of coverages to the map, e.g. roads, railways, towns, rivers and features such as the geology and veld types within the area.
• Data query:
  • Provides access to the query and tabular reporting routines.
• Output generation:
  • Provides access to the output generation and plotting routines incorporated within WaterMarque.
• Quit:
  • To exit WaterMarque completely.

Other onscreen features

In addition to the primary features which are to be found on screen there are a number of smaller features. These smaller features are building blocks of the larger features.

• A check box
  • A menu option with a check box beside it.
  • This is the square box usually to the right of an option.
  • If it has not been selected, the box is empty. Conversely if it has been selected, then it contains a tick.
  • To select the option (switch it on) centre the cursor arrow on the empty box and click the left mouse button once. A tick will appear in the centre of the box.
  • To deselect the option (switch it off), centre the cursor arrow on the tick within the check box and click the left mouse button once. The tick will disappear leaving the check box empty.
• An icon
  • To select an option or to start a variety of actions. Centre the cursor arrow on the icon and click the left mouse button once to activate a specific aspect of WaterMarque.
• Session Information
  • The session information menu has the primary purpose of informing you of the functions and processes being run by the computer. It appears and remains (unless dismissed by the user) in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
• Scroll box
  • On the right-hand side of the scroll box there is a scroll bar. On smaller scroll bars an elevator consisting of two arrows separated by a box can be moved up and down the scroll bar. This is done by centring the cursor arrow on one of the arrows and depressing the left-hand mouse button. To move down, place the cursor on the lower arrow. To move up, place the cursor on the upper arrow. In addition a quick scrolling action is also available. Hold down the mouse button on the centre of the arrowed handlebar to drag the box up or down.
• An Input Field
  • This is an underlined area in which the user is required to type in data - perhaps a name or password as in the opening menu.
  • To type in your password, move the cursor to the start of the line. Click the left mouse button once. Type in your password. Then press <Enter>on the keyboard.

    You do not always have to press <Enter> on the keyboard to ensure that the information entered in that field is accepted by WaterMarque. It is only required on this first menu in WaterMarque.

• Popup menus
  • Menus contain submenus which flash onto the screen, referred to as popup menus. Make a selection by clicking on the option of choice. The other menus on the screen will remain inactive until you respond to the popup menu. When you have made a choice by clicking on the popup menu option, then the popup menu will disappear.
  • For example, a popup menu allowing you to select a colour has a scrollbar on the right which allows you scroll through and select the colour that you want. Place the cursor arrow on the downward facing arrow and depress the left mouse button. The scrollbar elevator will slowly descend, exposing colours within the box as it does so.
  • Release the left mouse button when you find a colour you like, centre the cursor arrow on the colour, click the left mouse button once. The popup menu will disappear.

Basic Interface Functionality

Within WaterMarque all menus can be accessed simultaneously, allowing you to cross-reference sections and choices within one session. The menu structure is not hierarchical, in which you become increasingly isolated in one specialised field of inquiry. This freedom to enter various functions, in any order, must be used carefully lest you miss selecting vital data or coverages and have to start again. For example, the dataset must be selected or recalled from memory before a time series data query can be processed.

Major WaterMarque Modules

WaterMarque is best understood in terms of functionality modules, where sets of similar functions are grouped together.

These modules are accessed in the Main menu bar, and constitute the primary interface procedure.

In WaterMarque there are five main functionality modules.

• Catchment Selection
• Spatial Feature Selection and Display
• Monitoring Point Selection
• Data Query
• Output

Each of these modules consists of a number of menus which are constructed similarly as they perform similar but different functions. (e.g. the layers module menus).

• Catchment Selection

  This module allows you to select an area of interest on the basis of prenamed and determined catchments. The catchments are defined at primary, secondary and tertiary catchment levels. You can display quaternary catchment boundaries, but cannot use them for selection.

• Spatial Feature Selection and Display

  This module presents a range of geographic features which are vital background information for the process of water quality assessment. The features have been grouped according to natural environmental features (elevation, geology, vegetation) and man-made environmental features (infrastructure, towns, landuse). The features are displayed as shaded areas (polygons), linear or point symbols. A number of different features may be simultaneously selected and displayed.

• Monitoring Point Selection and Display

  This module allows you to inspect the data from the different water quality monitoring networks recognised by the DWAF.

  Monitoring points can be interrogated in three ways:

  • Monitoring Network allows you to select and display the monitoring network of your choice within a catchment or catchments, in order to analyse and process such data
  • Data Record this option allows you to select and locate monitoring stations according to the water quality records and to then perform a monitoring network audit, among other tasks. The data required can be displayed in a rapid on screen interrogation session. The result is that monitoring activity can be readily visualised throughout the area.
  • Provincial Boundary this option allows you to select monitoring points within provincial boundaries.

  The module extends further in allowing you to initiate a query session on the record of data collected at the monitoring points you selected.

• Data Query Module

  This module allows you to select the water quality variables of interest, the recommended guidelines for use and the time period of data to be assessed. A number of graphs and symbols are available for display of the data, including standard time series graphs, box and whisker plots, pie charts and some non-standard symbols specially adapted for WaterMarque e.g. radial time series and maucha diagrams.

  The Data Query Module module also allows you to recall previously saved data and dispense with the tedious process of monitoring point reselection.

• Output

  The Output module allows the selections you made within the session to be converted into a graphics file format, from which you will be able to plot. The paper size can be selected, as well as various map features. It is important to note that this version of WaterMarque only allows you to print in landscape orientation.

• Reset to SA

  Switches off current catchment selection and resets map display to show the full extent of South Africa.

A Note on Module Interaction

Several submodules within WaterMarque are very useful for manipulating various aspects of data representation. These will be discussed in more detail within the module chapters.

Each functionality module is a system which can be accessed on its own or in conjunction with other modules. Each module performs a selected function, within the analysis of water quality data, usually not performed by the other modules. However, the Point Selection and the Data Query module do share, for convenience, some of the same functions. These will be discussed in greater detail later.

General Information

Conventions Specific to WaterMarque

Menus in WaterMarque share various conventions and similarities. Certain symbols and icons occur repeatedly in menus of many different functions.

Quit icon

Common to all menus in WaterMarque is the Quit icon. The purpose of the Quit icon is to allow you to exit a menu or module quickly without having to enter information into a field and to avoid having to make selections.

For example, you have mistakenly entered into the Administrative Boundaries menu when you really wanted to be in the International Boundaries menu. Without having to select unwanted data from the datasets in the Administrative Boundaries menu, you can simply click on the Quiticon found at the bottom of all menus. The exceptions are those menus that form the backbone of the system's functionality, such as the session information, the Main menu bar and the Pan Zoom menu.

Draw icon

The Draw icon is found on almost all menus and serves the purpose of allowing you to draw your selections from various selections to screen.

Change Symbols Icon

The Change Symbols icon occurs on menus which provide you with the ability to display data to the screen and maps as layers of colour or symbols representing certain values or occurrences, e.g. waterweed symbol. These symbols are set up within WaterMarque as defaults. These can be reset by simply clicking on Reset icons on selected menus.

The Change Symbols icon allows you to change a symbol for a value or occurrence on the map with a choice from a predetermined characterset. To see how it works click on the Change Symbols icon.