Wellsite Traverse Project
Background
Since 1960 the Surveys and Technical Services Section was responsible for the approval and storage of wellsite traverse survey plans within Alberta. On December 1, 1997, Alberta Registries - Land Titles Offices began registering these plans of survey. Corrections made to wellsite traverse plans dated prior to December 1, 1997 are also being registered at Land Titles. The images distributed by the Surveys and Technical Services Section do not include corrections registered in Land Titles. It is the surveyor's responsibility to obtain the most up-to-date data from Alberta Registries.
The branch scanned 5499 wellsite traverse plans as well as 2526 index cards. Compact disks containing this data became available for distribution on September 15, 1998. The set of CDs costs $100.00 plus GST. Please contact:
Director of Surveys
15th Floor Oxbridge Place
9820 - 106 Street NW
Edmonton Alberta Canada T5K 2J6
Voice: (780) 427 3143 Fax: (780) 427 1493
E-mail: DOS.Sales@gov.ab.ca
Note that the distribution of single wellsite plans was discontinued as of April 1, 1999.
About the Compact Disks
The information is contained on three CDs. The images are in a raster format - Tag Image File Format (TIFF), CCITT Group 4. The information is stored on the CDs under 2 folders, Wellsite and Index. The 3 CDs are identified by Meridian, West of the 4th, West of the 5th, West of the 6th, with the appropriate information stored accordingly. The Wellsite folder contains the TIFF image file of the wellsite traverse plan identified by the vault number (the WS number) assigned to the plan by the Surveys and Technical Services Section.
The folder also contains information for 338 plans dormant wellsite traverse plans. The Section provides this information to assist users in obtaining a copy of the plan or the information required, from the surveyor or company responsible for the plan. A dormant wellsite traverse plan is a plan that has not been approved by the Surveys and Technical Services Section. If the surveyor or company is not available the Section may have additional information that could be of assistance to the user.
The Index folder contains TIFF image files of all wellsite traverse plans index cards stored by the Surveys and Technical Services Section. These index cards contain a township diagram with the traverse plans pertaining to that township shown as well as a list of the plans within the township.
Every attempt was made to acquire a complete set of wellsite plans, but two, WS108570 and WS122241, were still missing upon completion of the project.
Surveys and Technical Services Section used extensive methods and resources to obtain the best possible images from both microfiche cards and hard copy material stored at the Section. Some of the images may still contain areas with information not readable. If a wellsite traverse plan image with unreadable data is discovered please contact Ed Titanich at the address listed below. The Section will examine the image in question and determine if it can be improved from the hard copy available at the Section.
If the image cannot be improved from the copy stored at the Section, it is recommended that the user contact the original surveyor or company responsible for the plan.
The Section will track those images that can be upgraded and investigate the possible methods to distribute updated images to the users i.e., posting the images to the Section web site for downloading, e-mail to registered users, etc.
Requirements
A number of software packages that allow the user to view and print the images are available. It is recommended that users acquire a software package that will meet their requirements for the planned use of these images.The Section recommends that a high end Pentium PC should be used when viewing multiple raster images. The Section also recommends that as a minimum, a Pentium 3 500 MHz PC with 64MB RAM be used.
The images can be printed using a standard laser printer. The ability to print large areas or enlarged sections of the image to a printer will depend on the choice of software. A large format printer or plotter will be required if the user wants to reproduce the image at its true size.
Database
In order to allow the user to search the data, based on the Alberta Township System (Meridian, Range, Township) and/or by vault number (wellsite plan number), the Section has developed a simple Wellsite Database using Microsoft Access 97.
A cross-reference ASCII text file is included in a comma-delimited format, for those who wish to import the data, to a database other than Microsoft Access. As of February 10, 1999 the database is distributed on disk 1 (Wellsite Traverse Plan Data West of the 4th Meridian) of the CD set. It is a zip file named wellsite.zip. A detailed help file is included with the database.
This database file is available for download, at no charge, from this site, just click on the icon below. Please note that this file is 3MB in size. Updated December 5, 2001.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a raster and vector image?
Raster and vector refer to the two main types of graphical images. Raster images consist of a grid, or raster, of small squares or pixels. When working with these images, you edit groups of pixels rather than objects or shapes. Raster-based images are best for continuous-tone images like photographs or images created in painting programs or by scanning. Raster images are resolution-dependent and appear jagged and lose detail if they are scanned or created at a low resolution and are then printed at a high resolution.
Vector images are made up of mathematically defined lines and curves called vectors. These resolution-independent images then have a specific location on a page making it easy to resize, move, or change colour without losing detail. Vector-based programs are used by CAD applications.
Why use TIFF format for storing the scanned images?
Tagged Image/Interchange File Format. A file-storage format implemented on a wide array of computer systems. It is considered an industry standard. Versatility and compatibility make the TIFF image format the optimum choice for many projects. It works on both the Mac and PC platforms, supports almost any picture bit depth, and allows various forms of compression.
Using the Imaging for Windows software that I downloaded, how can I zoom and print a specific area of the wellsite plan?
After opening the wellsite traverse plan file using the Imaging software
select the area you would like to zoom or print. This is done by using
the select tool found under View on the toolbar, pressing Ctl + Space
or clicking the icon 
on
the toolbar. Once selected use the copy command under Edit to copy
the selected area to the clipboard. Create a new image file using New
under File on the toolbar. Then paste the copied image into the new
file. Use the print command to print the image to your printer.
Can the same software and hardware be used to view/print the digital registered plans which Land Titles will be distributing on-line?
Yes, if both images are in a TIFF format, the software and hardware configuration suitable for the wellsite traverse plan data will also view and print the images available through LTO.
Samples :
Wellsite Plan WS 500 in
PDF format
Wellsite Index Card in PDF
format
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Updates
The following images have been updated. Please click on the image to download. After download replace the images from the previous version with these new versions.
Image |
Location | Date of Update | Description |
| W4 CD | October 06, 1999 | Replaced with a better quality image. | |
| W5 CD | October 06, 1999 | Replaced with the correct image. | |
| W6 CD | October 06, 1999 | Replaced with a better quality image. | |
| W6 CD | October 06, 1999 | Replaced with a better quality image. | |
3012 |
W5 CD | February 10, 2000 | Moved image from W4 CD to W5 CD - Updated database. |
116531 |
W5 CD | February 10, 2000 | Moved image from W6 CD to W5 CD - Updated database. |
123835 |
W5 CD | February 10, 2000 | Moved image from W4 CD to W5 CD - Updated database. |
| W5 CD | May 18, 2000 | Replaced with the correct image. | |
| W6 CD | October 12, 2000 | Correction made to plan. | |
| W4 CD | March 6, 2001 | Replaced with a better quality image. | |
| W4 CD | March 6, 2001 | Replaced with a better quality image. | |
122062 |
W4 CD | December 5, 2001 | Moved image from W6 CD to W4 CD - Updated database |
| W6 CD | November 30, 2004 | Replaced with a better quality image. |
Contacts:
More information or assistance can be obtained by contacting:
Name: Ed Titanich - Project Leader
Phone: (780) 422 0051
Fax: (780) 427 1493
Email: Ed.Titanich@gov.ab.ca
Name: Mike Michaud, Director of Surveys
Voice: (780) 422 0020
Fax: (403) 427 1493
Email: Mike.Michaud@gov.ab.ca
