This getting started guide provides instructions for using OS MasterMap Water Network Layer in different applications. Users with limited technical knowledge will be able to follow this guide.
OS MasterMap Water Network Layer is a digital representation of the watercourses in Great Britain as a series of connected features. The data represents the approximate central alignment of watercourses and is attributed to provide a range of information about the section of watercourses they represent.
The product has two core feature types:
WatercourseLink: A WatercourseLink feature represents the alignment of a watercourse. The majority have been derived from Ordnance Survey detailed topographic data, made available to customers as the OS MasterMap Topography Layer product.
HydroNode: A HydroNode feature explicitly represents the start, junctions and end of each watercourse, as well as places where there's a change in the real-world-related attribution.
OS MasterMap Water Network Layer supports a wide range of customers’ applications. The product can be used alone or in combination with other Ordnance Survey products, such as OS MasterMap Topography Layer, OS MasterMap Imagery Layer and OS Terrain 5. It will significantly enhance systems used to manage waterways and rivers and the flood risk they pose.
The OS MasterMap Water Network Layer product can be used for applications such as:
Understanding flood risk
Flood risk mitigation planning
Flood response planning and execution
Detailed flood modelling for insurance and land and property
Environmental impact analysis
Tracking water flows and any contamination
Asset management and protection
The management of statutory directives relating to watercourses
Ecology studies, for example, species migration
Analytics and visual interpretation, particularly when used in combination with other Ordnance Survey products, for example, OS Terrain 5
This getting started guide focuses solely on using the product in GML format.
Guidance on how to use this product in GeoPackage and vector tiles formats can be found in the following documents:
OS MasterMap Water Network Layer is supplied in three formats: Geography Markup Language (GML 3.2.1), GeoPackage and vector tiles. All formats are compressed into a regular zip file (.ZIP).
Before loading the data, you will need to unzip it by using any of the regular zip programs available or via the facility within the Windows 10 operating system.
The tiled dataset will be provided in 5 km x 5 km square tiles and will contain all features present in the tile(s) ordered.
The data is supplied as 'hairy tiles', in that no feature is broken at the tile edge but is included across the tile boundary if it extends into an adjacent tile. As such, a data holding comprising more than one 5 km² tile will contain duplicate features which may need to be removed depending upon the user requirement.
The GeoPackage and vector tiles formats will be available for Great Britain coverage only. The file naming convention will be as follows:
GML: 5 km² tile ID. gz, for example: HP4500.gz
GeoPackage: MMNWGB.gpkg
Vector tiles: MMNWGB.mbtiles
Direct customers and Partners, please contact your account manager or Business Enquiries.
For PSGA customers, the product is available to you through the PSGA contract.
The data is available as an online download via the OS Data Hub.
The data is supplied in a .zip archive, which contains a parent folder with two sub-folders entitled DATA and DOC, and an additional readme file.
OS MasterMap Water Network Layer is designed for use in a geographic information system (GIS). For details of Ordnance Survey’s Licensed Partners who can assist you with incorporating the product in their systems, please see the 'Software for mapping' page on the Ordnance Survey website.
Ordnance Survey does not recommend specific suppliers or software products, as the most appropriate system will depend on many factors, for example, the amount of data being taken, resources available within the organisation, the existing and planned information technology infrastructure, and, ultimately, the applications that the data will be used for. However, as a minimum, the following elements will be required in any system:
A means of reading the data, either in its native format, or by translating it into a file format or for storage in a database.
A means of storing and distributing the data, perhaps in a database or through a web-based service.
A way of visualising and/or querying the data, typically a GIS.
You are advised to copy the supplied data to a backup medium before following the steps outlined in this getting started guide.
For reading purposes, it is recommended that users store the data on a single hard disc. This will speed up the ability of your computer to read the data. Compressed file sizes for the full supply of England, Scotland and Wales are as follows:
Geography Markup Language (GML): The compressed file size for Great Britain is approximately 1.25 Gb.
GeoPackage: The compressed file size for Great Britain is approximately 1.8 Gb.
Vector tiles: The compressed file size for Great Britain is approximately 1.5 Gb.
Geography Markup Language (GML) is an XML dialect, which can be used to model geographic features. It was designed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) as a means for people to share information regardless of the particular applications or technology that they use. In the first instance, GML was used to overcome the differences between different geographic information system (GIS) applications by providing a neutral file format as an alternative to proprietary formats.
The data can be loaded into several GIS. This section describes how to translate the GML and load it into some commonly used GIS. For more information about other GIS that OS MasterMap Water Network Layer is compatible with, please speak to your Relationship Manager.
The common software covered in this section are as follows:
QGIS
FME
ERSI ArcMap
MapInfo Professional
Cadcorp Map Modeller
The OS MasterMap Water Network Layer data can be used in two types of networks.
Geometric networks offer a way to model common networks and infrastructures found in the real world. Water distribution and water flow in a stream are two examples of resource flows that can be modelled and analysed using a geometric network.
A geometric network can be set up easily, does not need an additional license and has some functionality (tracing up/downstream, for example) provided by the Utility Network Analyst Toolbar.
A geometric network cannot be published in ArcGIS server.
Network analyst is the mathematical processing of the geometry of a link/node layer, enabling the identification of all possible routes around that network, along with the distances and times involved. Put simply, this means that, using an accurate road data layer, the computer can identify possible routes between two locations and calculate the shortest route.
This requires a Network Analyst License. You can build simple networks, but more complicated networks will require you to have detailed knowledge of networks to set up attributes and elevators.
Note: This guide will only cover a geometric network.
A geometric network is built within a feature dataset in the geodatabase. The feature classes in the feature dataset are used as the data sources for network junctions and edges. The following step-by-step instructions will guide you through building a geometric network; they have been prepared using ArcMap version 10.6.1.
Open ArcCatalog.
Navigate to your geodatabase in your Folder Connections.
Expand the geodatabase.
Right-click on the geodatabase, select New from the list of options, then click Feature Dataset…
Give your new Feature Dataset a name, then click Next.
Set your coordinate system that will be used for the XY coordinates in the data (British National Grid EPSG:27700), then click Next.
Set your coordinate system that will be used for the Z coordinates in the data (Newlyn). Ordnance Datum Newlyn (ODN) is our national coordinate system for heights above mean sea level (orthometric heights).
Click Next.
In the next panel, leave your XY tolerance as the default settings and click Finish. A new Feature Dataset will appear in the geodatabase.
Copy the HydroNode and WatercourseLink feature classes into the new Feature Dataset by simply dragging them in.
You may get an error message if the coordinate systems of the feature classes don’t match those of the new Feature Dataset. To resolve this, right-click on each feature class and select Properties. Check that the Z coordinate system is set to Newlyn and the XY coordinate system is set to British National Grid, then copy the feature classes into the new Feature Dataset.
Right-click the Water feature dataset in the geodatabase, select New from the list of options, then click Geometric Network.
Click Next in the New Geometric Network dialog box that opens.
Type the name of your geometric network into the text box under the Enter a name for your geometric network section.
Select Yes for the snap features within the specified tolerance option.
Type 0.5 in the text box next to Meters.
Click Next.
In the next panel, you must select which feature classes in the feature dataset will participate in the geometric network. Click Select All. All the feature classes in the list will participate in the network.
Click Next.
The option to exclude features with certain attributes makes it easier to manage the network. In the next panel, you need to opt not to exclude features. Click No, so that all features will participate in the geometric network.
Click Next.
In the next dialog box, you must specify which line classes will become complex edge feature classes in the geometric network. Complex edge features are not split into two features by the connection of another feature along their length; thus, they are useful for modeling water mains, which may have multiple laterals connected to them. By default, all line feature classes are simple edge feature classes. In the same dialog box, you must specify which, if any, of the junction feature classes can act as sources and sinks in the network. Sources and sinks are used to determine the flow direction in the network.
In the row for the HydroNode feature class, click Simple Junction under the Role column.
In the row for the WatercourseLink feature class, choose Complex Edge from the list under the Role column.
In the row for the HydroNode feature class, click the dropdown menu under the Sources & Sinks column, then click Yes.
Click Next.
This geometric network does not require weights, which is the default, so click Next in the following panel:
Clicking Next opens a summary page. Click Finish after you review the summary page.
A progress indicator will appear displaying the progress for each stage of the network-building process. You will receive an error message indicating that the network has been built but contains some errors:
Click OK to close the error message box.
You can see what errors occurred while building the geometric network by previewing the WaterNet_BUILDERR table.
Right-click the WaterNet_BUILDERR table in the Catalog and click Item Description. Then click the Preview tab to view the entries in this table.
Features with invalid geometries are identified during the network build progress and recorded in the Network Build Errors Table. (This is user-managed; it does not get updated when the features listed within it are edited.)
If you received more than two errors, delete the geometric network and repeat the steps to create it again.
You can then proceed to load the data into ArcMap.