Annual Conference Spotlight: Track 6 Emergency Management

The 2026 Annual Conference is featuring a Track specifically tailored to Emergency Management.   Check out Track 6 in the Conference Agenda for more information. 

Attend Nicole Barbiaux's session on "How a Natural Disaster Proved the Value of GIS".  From here you'll learn about how on July 5, 2024, the City of Manawa received over 5 inches of rain within a span of a few hours.   This heavy rain ultimately caused the Manawa Mill Pond dam to fail sending floodwaters throughout the City streets and homes. Using Survey123 Connect, an online form was created to  mobilize and quickly inspect all Sanitary and Storm utilities within the City. What would have taken multiple weeks of effort using standard paper forms and procedure, field crews were instead able to easily and quickly assess the damage to the utility systems and provide valuable information when applying for emergency funding. This presentation will review how Survey123 Connect was used to replace paper forms and how the use of real time dashboards and automated reports demonstrated the power of GIS and helped open the door for future internal applications.

Nicole Barbiaux is the GIS Coordinator for Cedar Corporation and has been with the company since 2023. Bringing in over 15 years of GIS experience, Nicole specializes in data management, analysis, and visual display. She enjoys working with a wide range of communities to create asset management solutions specific to each community. Nicole recently acquired her GISP license and is an active member of WLIA where she recently served on the Board of Directors from 2023 to 2025.

Learn about more of the exciting presentations and workshops available at the 2026 Annual Conference in Wisconsin Dells by checking out the Event Page often!