District receives award for technology innovation

The district’s application developers were recently honored for their mobile-friendly Water Well Construction module. Pictured, left to right: Kevin Brown, Anil Metla, Nisarg Shah, Nishith Chaturvedi, John Pallepogu, Marlise Viljoen, Lisa Gerber, and Rama Garapati.

PALATKA, Fla., Aug. 13, 2019 — A mobile application developed by the St. Johns River Water Management District’s Office of Information Technology recently earned recognition for its innovative use of technology. The district’s Water Well Construction Module received the Technology Innovation – Citizens Category award from Government Technology magazine.

The award recognizes special districts that have utilized technology to improve service delivery to citizens by either increasing customer satisfaction, enhancing user experience or accelerating access to services.

“We work hard to implement technologies that provide scalable and effective solutions for the public and our employees,” said Kevin Brown, Director of Information Technology. “Technology plays a big role in protecting our natural resources and we are honored to have our work recognized.”

Launched in September 2018, the award-winning application is used by water well contractors whose work requires applying for and obtaining well construction permits from Florida’s water management districts. The mobile-friendly module has several features that streamline the permit application process.

During today’s Governing Board meeting, the Office of Technology provided updates about the Water Well Construction Module in addition to other applications and projects including development of an infrastructure database, an autonomous mapping program, cybersecurity upgrades, and hardware and software updates.