New York City's Dept. of Environmental Protection has tapped Baker Engineering N.Y. Inc. to create a geographic information system map of the city's sewerage system.

The $10.4-million project is expected to take the Elmsford, N.Y.-based firm three years. It will involve GIS application development, scanning of 110,000 plan sheets, and conversion of the data into a single geodatabase.

Attributes for 20,000 manholes will then be field verified and checked for accuracy. The contract, announced Aug. 19, also includes providing GIS applications and training for department personnel in all five boroughs.

Project Director Roland Belay says the database will give the city a digital foundation for future work and planning. The effort will be coordinated out of a project office in Long Island City, N.Y.

Baker is a unit of Michael Baker Corp., whose services include engineering design for transportation and civil infrastructure, as well as oil and gas production facilities.