Mill Creek Master Plan
Foreword

The Mill Creek Master Plan, Volume 1--Main Report and Volume 2--Technical Appendix (Inventory and Analysis), was completed in September 1993, and was approved on November 20, 1995. It is the first multiple resource inventory and analysis in the Mill Creek Project's 50-year history. It is also the first Water Resource Master Plan in the Corps of Engineers to fully use computerized Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and is also the first Master Plan to be placed on the World Wide Web.

The format, outline, and process used in the Mill Creek Master Plan were developed through the previously completed Lucky Peak Master Plan. Manual GIS (map overlays) was used for the Lucky Peak Master Plan. Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, recommended that the Baltimore District utilize the process used in the Lucky Peak and Mill Creek Master Plans for a congressionally- mandated Master Plan. The Baltimore District requested assistance in the application of computerized GIS in the Master Plan process, as used in the Mill Creek Master Plan.

Along with producing both volumes of the Mill Creek Master Plan, there now exists a complete information systems for the Mill Creek Project, which is stored in the Walla Walla District's Corporate GIS Database. This Master Plan is the Walla Walla District's pilot project for utilizing GIS, which stores information that can be used to produce both written reports and spatial maps. The information can be used at different scales and in different combinations for synthesis, analysis, displays, and presentations by all elements of the District, and will be used for the life of the project.

The Mill Creek Master Plan has been the vehicle used to establish the Walla Walla District's GIS database, graphic standards, procedures, and analysis; which will be utilized by all operational civil projects within the District. These standards have also been shared with other Corps Districts to help them establish their GIS, and was incorporated in the Spatial Data Standards being developed by the Tri-Service CADD/GIS Technology Center (located at Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi).

The Mill Creek database has already served many needs other than the Master Plan. The data in the system are dynamic, and the database is ready for additional information applicable to the Operational Management Plan and other project functions. The experience gained through the utilization of GIS for this Master Plan has enabled GIS technology to be used for habitat evaluation procedure studies on the lower Snake River, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, restoration studies, and the Hanford Site. The GIS data have been used by Hydrology Branch (in their Flood Control Manual), Real Estate (in Real Estate Segment Maps and Executive Order Reports), and Operations (in hunting maps and sign plans). The data have also served requests by others, both in and outside of the Walla Walla District.

In October 1993, Blaise Grdeń, Master Plan Study Manager, gave a workstation demonstration of the Mill Creek Project GIS Database at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The theme of the demonstration was How GIS Can Be Used As A Decision Support Tool For Congress.

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