OpenStreetMap

Hi, I am new to OpenStreetMap. I often use the US National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) in my work, but I am also a paddler, and I know from that experience there are many interesting features along waterways that aren’t captured in the NHD and probably never will be because of the bureaucratic hurdles. I’m wondering if OpenStreetMap might be a good way to capture these points of interest along streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, etc. such as rapids (with the ability to classify the rapid I-IV), boat ramps, fish weirs, waterfalls, etc. Ultimately, I envision watershed protection/Riverkeeper type organizations using the features in OSM to create maps of their watershed on their websites. This is already happening here in the US as there is a movement to create interactive watershed and/or paddling trail maps, but I think it is being done ad hoc by the few groups with the technological skill and money to pull it off. I know there are free web map options now like Google Maps with kmz files each watershed group can use, but it might be better if we could create a common template of features that these watershed groups would like to add to their watershed maps within OSM so they can take use the tools already built within it rather than everyone reinventing the wheel. So I guess I have two questions: 1. If I met with some watershed groups to find out what kind of feature types they would want in a map, what would be the process of getting them added as feature type choices in OSM? Some of them already appear to be in there, such as dams, boat rentals, and wastewater treatment plants, so there might not be a lot to add. Most of the new features would be points, but it’s possible we might want to add a linear paddle trail route, if those are acceptable. 2. If a watershed group wanted to add OSM to their website, is it possible to filter the map in some way to only show certain feature types, such as water-related features, like dams, boat ramps, etc? Thanks!

Discussion

Comment from Jon W on 9 October 2014 at 12:42

Ok, I now see there is something called OpenSeaMap but that appears to focus on marine/coastal water features, not inland waters. I also see there is a WikiProject on Whitewater Maps (http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Whitewater_Maps), so I need to examine that some more. I think what I envision is probably broader than just whitewater type features, and wouldn’t necessarily be just paddling-related, but able to identify water-related features of note.

Comment from Sanderd17 on 9 October 2014 at 13:16

In OSM, you may add any features you like, on some conditions:

  • It need to be verifiable: The main problem with grades (highway classification, tracktype classification, …) is that mappers interpret them differently. So they should have a very precise definition to make them verifiable.
  • It must be current and more or less permanent: We’re not interested in features that change very often. There are lots of people that use the maps downloaded, offline, and only update the maps a few times per year. So we can’t include fast-changing things like traffic jams, or even road works that only take a few days.

But if the feature you want to map obeys to the above conditions, then you can just map it with your own invented keys and values. Note that the tags shouldn’t collide with existing tags. Think of your own tags, don’t mix in existing tags just so some tool can already use or render it. When you thought of a tag, check the wiki and taginfo to see if it’s already used in a different meaning or not.

You can also use the wiki to document your usage of keys and values. Or to encourage others to map it too. Preferably in the form of a wikiproject, or a tagging proposal.

For your second question. Sure it’s possible to filter the data. You can download the complete data of the entire world (in XML format or other derived formats) and use your coding skills and knowledge of used tags to filter it. You can also use existing services like Overpass (http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_Turbo) to filter out data and export it to specific formats. Though those services might not be powerful enough to filter and download a huge amount of data from a huge region.

Comment from Alan Trick on 9 October 2014 at 15:23

Regarding grades, I think they are pretty verifiable. Much more so than road grades, at least. Routes will get graded by consensus, usually based on typical condition. Unlike roads, waterways don’t require constant human maintenance, and so baring an significant weather event that changes the landscape, the grade is fairly consistent from year to year. Grades of often published and so they can probably be sourced from outside OSM too.

Comment from SK53 on 9 October 2014 at 15:39

A prominent OSMer Harry Wood is (perhaps was) a paddler, and on the wiki there is a page dedicated to whitewater paddling.

My feeling is that not a great deal has been done in this area of late, but for sure there already exists a range of suitable tags, some of which are rendered on OpenSeaMap.

Comment from Jon W on 13 October 2014 at 14:11

Ok, thank you for the information. I need to do more research on this for sure, but it sounds like OSM could be a good route to take for permanent waterbody features, and that some groundwork is already in place.

I think watershed groups might also be interested in citizens identifying things that are not permanent features though, such as locations of concern like fish kill locations, construction site runoff problems, suspected spills, sites needing litter cleanup, etc, It sounds like OSM would not be appropriate for something like these because they can change. I envision a web app similar to http://www.citysourced.com but for specifically water-related features.

If anyone else is interested in helping with this effort, please let me know (jonwbecker@gmail.com) because all I have right now is a concept and some contacts with watershed groups. I have desktop GIS (ArcGIS) experience but not really any programming or OSM experience, and I could definitely use some experienced, technical expertise to actually execute the vision.

Comment from Warin61 on 11 December 2014 at 02:42

Welcome.

I’d look at the present approved tags. If you need another tag then select something similar and think of a new name and propose it on the tagging list .. https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/tagging .. this way the ‘experts’ get to have a say .. might come up with a better idea .. or show that it already exists… Adding your own ‘special’ tags can lead to others deleting them … as they don’t know what it is for and it ‘annoys’ them. Never the less you may not get many people looking at your work so it may well survive.

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