Colonias,  unincorporated border settlements in the United States, have emerged in rural areas without the governance and services normally provided by local government. By 2001, more than 1400 colonias were identified in Texas. The Texas Water Development Board has allowed the USGS to improve colonia Geographic Information System (GIS) boundaries and develop the Colonia Health, Infrastructure and Platting Status (CHIPS) tool.  In 2005, the Border Environmental Health Initiative team developed an OGC-compliant binational Internet Map Service (IMS)

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 In 2005, the Border Environmental Health Initiative team developed an OGC-compliant binational Internet Map Service (IMS) with satellite imagery, orthoimagery and integrated geology, hydrology, transportation, geographical names, potential sources of contaminants, demographic data for population density, Nexrad daily weather, and boundary datasets for subarea 8, the pilot study area. Fact sheets addressing the utility, analysis capabilities, and dataset availability associated with the IMS were published in Spanish and English.

This project Webs ite: (http://borderhealth.cr.usgs.gov) was created to provide background project information, white papers describing methodology for binational dataset integration, links to publications and references, and spreadsheets with health and Colonias statistics. Additionally, through the website, an online static map and data table library was established to provide an alternate method of accessing information served on the IMS. Project development efforts and outreach activities focused on U.S. and Mexican federal agencies, such as EPA, SEMARNAT, PEMEX, Department of Homeland Security, INSP, INEGI, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

To view the interactive Web maps, documentation and links, visit  http://borderhealth.cr.usgs.gov