Fix connectivity errors in a utility network

One of the most important aspects of using any dataset is knowing that the data is correct and can safely be used to make decisions. The rules of a utility network help to keep your data clean as you edit it. They ensure that features are modeled and connected correctly according to your industry, and that the data meets the topological requirements of the network.

In this tutorial, you're a GIS technician who is editing a utility network. You'll resolve connectivity errors created by your own edits and the edits of other people. A connectivity error is a common type of topology error that occurs when two features have connectivity but do not have a corresponding connectivity rule that allows them to be connected. You'll learn how to identify these errors, how to verify which connections are valid for a feature, and how to correct the errors.

The examples in this tutorial make assertions about what is and is not allowed to be connected. These rules are configured in the utility network topology by an administrator who understands how the data for the specific utility network should be modeled. Your job as an editor is to correct errors in the data until it complies with these rules.

If you are not familiar with ArcGIS Utility Network, you are encouraged to first complete the tutorial Manage utility data using ArcGIS Utility Network.

This tutorial was last tested on January 16, 2025, using ArcGIS Pro 3.3. If you're using a different version of ArcGIS Pro, you may encounter different functionality and results.

Requirements

• ArcGIS Pro Standard or Advanced (see options for software access)
• User, Publisher, or Administrator role in an ArcGIS organization: ArcGIS Online (see options for software access) or ArcGIS Enterprise (learn more)

Edit a utility network

First, you'll see how the utility network tracks and validates edits to ensure that your GIS data is correct, according to your data model.

Download the data

Before you begin, you'll download the data as a project package and become familiar with the first area of interest.

1. Download the Connectivity Errors project package.

   A file named Connectivity Errors.ppkx is downloaded to your computer.

   Note:

   A .ppkx file is an ArcGIS Pro project package and may contain maps, data, and other files that you can open in ArcGIS Pro. Learn more about managing .ppkx files in this guide.

2. Locate the downloaded file on your computer. Double-click Connectivity Errors.ppkx to open it in ArcGIS Pro.
3. If prompted, sign in with your ArcGIS account.

   Note:

   If you don't have access to ArcGIS Pro or an ArcGIS organizational account, see options for software access.

   A map appears, of a water distribution utility network in Naperville, Illinois.

   

4. On the ribbon, click the Map tab. In the Navigate group, click Bookmarks.

   

5. In the bookmark gallery, click Bookmark 1 to zoom to this bookmark.

   

   The map zooms to a residential area.

6. In the Contents pane, check the box next to Labels to turn this layer on.

   

   Labels appear on the map. These are not the typical labels found in a utility network map, but are intended to make feature identification easier throughout this tutorial.

   Near the intersection of Elizabeth Avenue and White Oak Drive is a tee intersection between three Water Main, Distribution Main lines. These water mains are connected without a fitting. In the field, pipes cannot be directly connected like this without a fitting, weld, or device.

   

   To the west, near the intersection of Elizabeth Avenue and Anne Road, there is a similar intersection of three Water Main, Distribution Main pipes. Here, the pipes are connected with a Fitting, Tee junction. You'll add a similar tee fitting to the first intersection.

   

Add a missing network feature

Next, you'll perform some basic edits in the utility network. You'll create a missing feature, which will in turn create a dirty area. Then, you'll validate and save your edits. No errors will occur in this first example.

1. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Snapping group, ensure that the Snapping button is highlighted in blue to indicate that snapping is turned on.
2. Click the lower half of the Snapping button. Ensure that the first four snapping options are turned on.

   

3. In the Features group, click Create.

   

   The Create Features pane appears.

4. In the Create Features pane, in the search bar, type tee. In the search results, click the Tee template.

   

   On the map, the cursor is replaced with a Tee fitting symbol.

5. Point to the empty Water Main, Distribution Main intersection. When the snapping ToolTip says Water Main : Endpoint, click the map to create a feature at that location.

   

   Note:

   The snapping rules configured for the map are overridden by any utility network rules. You won't be able to snap a feature to another feature if a utility network rule forbids it.

6. On the editing toolbar, click the Finish button.

   

7. Zoom in to the new feature until you can see a blue hatched box surrounding it.

   

   This box is called a dirty area. The utility network creates polygon features called dirty areas to track all the edits and errors in the dataset.

8. In the Contents pane, expand the Water Utility Network layer and its Dirty Areas sublayer to see how dirty areas are symbolized on the map.

   

   This tutorial focuses on Dirty, Error, and Dirty and Error areas.

   • Dirty areas indicate that an edit has not yet been validated.
   • Error areas indicate that an edit has been validated but has returned an error.
   • Dirty and Error areas indicate that a feature that had an error has been edited and now needs to be validated again.

   The map shows a Dirty area, meaning that an edit has taken place and needs to be validated.

9. On the ribbon, click the Utility Network tab. In the Network Topology group, click the Validate button.

   

   When the validation is complete, a notification appears that no errors were discovered. The dirty area disappears from the map.

   

10. Close the Create Features pane.
11. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Selection group, click Clear to clear the selection.

    

    Next, you'll save your edits.

12. In the Manage Edits group, click Save.

    

13. In the Save Edits window, click Yes.

    You can't undo edits after you save, and if you choose to discard edits, you'll lose all edits since the last time you saved, so you should be strategic about when you choose to save your edits.

14. On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Save Project button.

    

    The project is saved.

    Tip:

    You can also save the project by pressing Ctrl+S.

You've made an edit to a utility network dataset by creating a new feature. You validated the edit and saved your changes. Now that you've learned the basics of editing and validating in the utility network, you'll use those skills to resolve errors.

Fix common junction-edge errors

The features in a utility network topology are called junctions and edges. They are typically point and line features on the map. Each utility network contains a collection of rules that determine which types of features are allowed to connect. For example, if you attempt to connect features that do not have a rule, or that have multiple, conflicting rules, you'll receive an error about invalid connectivity. You'll fix two types of junction-edge errors.

Fix connectivity errors for a hydrant service line

First, you'll view an example of a junction-edge error (error 8). To resolve it, you'll change the Asset type of the junction.

1. On the ribbon, click the Map tab. In the Navigate group, click Bookmarks and choose Bookmark 2.

   The map zooms to a location where a purge service valve (labeled on the map as Service Valve, Purge) is installed on a hydrant service line (labeled as Service, Hydrant Service).

   

   This is an unexpected combination of features which has resulted in several instances of error 8: Invalid connectivity – No junction edge rule.

   When you encounter a junction-edge error (error 8), you can ask the following questions to resolve it:

   Are there other errors at this location?

   • If so, the other errors may be preventing the features from connecting and should be addressed first.

   Should these features be allowed to connect?

   • If so, you should ask an administrator to add a rule to allow them to connect.
   • If not, you must determine the best way to correct the data.

   You'll answer these questions for the error shown on the map.

   • Are there other errors at this location? No. There are multiple errors, but they are all junction-edge errors between the service valve and the service line, representing a single junction-edge issue, so no other errors need to be corrected first.
   • Should these features be allowed to connect? No. From your existing knowledge of water networks, you know that hydrant service lines should not have purge service valves connected to them. A hydrant service valve should be used instead. You'll consult the Junction Edge rules to confirm this.
2. On the map, click the eastern Service, Hydrant Service feature to open its pop-up.

   

   Note:

   Make sure you click the line and not the surrounding dirty area. If you have difficulty, you can turn off the Dirty Areas layer in the Contents pane. Remember to turn the layer back on after you've opened the pop-up.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the pop-up. Under Rules (39), expand Junction Edge (37).

   A table appears, listing all feature types that the chosen feature is allowed to connect to according to the utility network's junction edge rules.

   

   Tip:

   If it is difficult to read the table, drag the edges of the pop-up window to make the window larger.

4. In the table, in the AssetGroup column, find the two Service Valve cells.

   

   The table indicates that when a Service Valve connects to the chosen line, it must have an AssetType of either Hydrant or Service. Because the chosen line is a hydrant service line, you'll change the asset type of the service valve to Hydrant.

   Note:

   You can configure pop-ups to include rules by downloading the Utility Data Management Support Tools from the Esri GitHub page and running the Configure UN Layers tool with the Rule Popup option.

5. Close the pop-up.
6. On the ribbon, on the Map tab, in the Selection group, click the Select button.

   

7. On the map, click the Service Valve, Purge feature to select it.

   

8. On the ribbon, in the Selection group, click Attributes.

   

   The Attributes pane appears.

9. In the Attributes pane, change the Asset type value to Hydrant.

   

10. Click Apply or ensure that Auto Apply is turned on.

    The dirty area surrounding the valve changes from the Error symbol to the Dirty and Error symbol, indicating that a feature that had an error has been edited and now needs to be validated again.

    

11. If necessary, zoom out until you can see all three dirty areas fully.

    By default, the Validate command only validates dirty areas within the current map extent.

12. On the ribbon, click the Utility Network tab. In the Network Topology group, click the Validate button.

    All of the dirty areas and error labels disappear. This part of the map is now validated and error free. The symbol and label for the service valve has also changed.

13. Right-click anywhere on the map and choose Clear.

    

    Tip:

    You can also clear a selection by pressing Ctrl+Shift+A.

14. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Manage Edits group, click Save.
15. In the Save Edits window, click Yes.

    You've resolved a junction-edge error (error 8) by creating a valid junction to connect the two edge features. Junction-edge errors are created whenever the system can't connect a point (junction) to a line (edge), so they often occur when other errors prevent features from connecting. When you see this error, focus on correcting other errors first since this may also resolve the junction-edge error.

    Note:

    To learn how to resolve this error by changing a configuration, see Allow a junction-edge connection in the tutorial Configure rules for a utility network.

Fix ambiguous connectivity errors

When it is unclear how two or more features are connected, the utility network creates error 9: Invalid connectivity – More than one junction edge rule applicable. This error is also referred to as an ambiguous connectivity error. To resolve it, you can modify terminal connections.

1. Navigate to the Bookmark 3 bookmark.

   The map zooms to a pump station on the eastern edge of the dataset. The station contains three pumps (labeled as Pump, Primary) that pump water into a nearby storage tower that provides water to the surrounding neighborhoods.

   

   The pump station also contains three instances of error 9: Invalid connectivity – More than one junction edge rule applicable. The three errors are centered on the middle pump in the station, indicating that there is something wrong with the pump. Until the errors are corrected, the affected feature will not be connected and you won't be able to perform trace analysis in the water system or pressure zones associated with this station.

   To better understand the issue, you'll label the terminals for the water lines.

2. In the Contents pane, click the List By Labeling tab.

   

3. In the Contents pane, expand Labels. Under Labels, expand Water Line.

   The three label classes associated with this layer appear.

4. Check the boxes next to From Terminal and To Terminal to turn these label classes on.

   

   More labels appear on the map. There is one label at the start and end of each Water Main line describing the terminals to and from devices. The terminals dictate the direction in which the water will flow through pumps and other devices. It is important that all of the pumps flow in the same direction to avoid creating loops in the station.

5. On the map, zoom in until you can read the terminal labels on either side of the three pump features.

   

   According to the top and bottom pumps, the low pressure side of the station is to the left (west) of the pumps and the high pressure side is to the right (east). The terminal connections for the middle pump are not fully defined. This creates ambiguous connectivity in which the flow direction is not clear.

   You'll update the terminal connections for the Water Main, Transmission Main lines where they connect with the middle pump.

6. On the ribbon, click the Utility Network tab. In the Network Topology group, click Terminal Connections.

   

7. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, ensure that Select a line feature is active (highlighted in blue).

   

8. On the map, click the Water Main, Distribution Main line to the left (west) of the middle pump to select it.

   

9. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, for To: Pump, ensure that Terminal is set to Low Pressure In.

   Note:

   If the Modify Terminal Connections pane shows the error message More than one coincident devices found, in the Contents pane, right-click the Labels layer and click Remove. If you do this, your map images will differ from the example images (you will not see labels on the map).

   

10. Click Apply.

    On the map, the terminal label updates from None to Low Pressure In. The dirty area symbol also changes.

    

11. On the map, click the Water Main, Distribution Main line to the right (east) of the middle pump to select it.

    

12. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, for From: Pump, change Terminal to High Pressure Out.

    

13. Click Apply.

    Note:

    If you removed the Labels layer, you can optionally replace it at this point. However, you'll need to remove it each time you use the Modify Terminal Connections pane. The Labels layer is for visualization purposes only and won't affect the workflow.

    To replace the layer, from the Catalog pane, open the Labels back-up map. Copy the Labels layer and paste it into the Connectivity Errors map. Move it below the Water Utility Network layer.

    If you need to remove the layer again, and are asked if you wish to save your edits, choose Yes.

    A new High Pressure Out label appears on the map.

    

    The dirty areas surrounding the edited water main lines have changed to the Dirty and Error symbol (blue hatch with red outline) to indicate that they need to be validated again. The pump was not edited, so the dirty area surrounding it still uses the Error symbol (red hatch with red outline).

    

    Next, you'll validate the edits.

14. Right-click anywhere on the map and click Clear to clear the selection.
15. On the map, zoom out until you can see all three dirty areas fully.
16. On the ribbon, on the Utility Network tab, in the Network Topology group, click Validate.

    When the validation is complete, a notification appears that no errors were discovered. All three dirty areas disappear from the map.

    

17. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Manage Edits group, click Save.
18. In the Save Edits window, click Yes.

    You've resolved the ambiguous connectivity errors (error 9) in the pump station by modifying terminal connections. Now that all the errors and dirty areas are resolved for this area, you can perform analysis using this station.

19. Save the project.

You saw several examples of how the utility network was able to identify data problems by creating junction-edge connectivity errors. In these examples you were able to look at the data, interpret the error, and correct the errors by making changes to the data.

Fix terminal connectivity errors

As you saw earlier, some features in the utility network are configured to have terminals that are used for connectivity. When you connect to a feature that has terminals, you need to specify which terminal the connection uses. When the specified terminal is not valid for the connected features, the system will create error 36: Line feature has invalid terminal, also known as an invalid terminal connection error.

Fix terminal connections after editing a feature

You'll make some necessary edits to the utility network which will cause an invalid terminal connection error (error 36). To resolve it, you'll remove terminal connections.

1. Navigate to the Bookmark 4 bookmark.

   The map shows a system isolation valve (labeled as System Valve, Isolation Zone) and a check flow valve (labeled as Flow Valve, Check) on a Water Main, Distribution Main line that is connected to a Water Main, Transmission Main line.

   

   You have been told that this map is incorrect. The valve to the north is actually a system valve, not a system isolation valve, so its Asset type attribute needs to be updated.

2. At the bottom of the Modify Terminal Connections pane, click the Attributes tab to reopen the Attributes pane.

   

   Tip:

   Alternatively, on the ribbon, click the Map tab. In the Selection group, click Attributes.

3. In the Attributes pane, ensure that Select one or more features is active (highlighted in blue).
4. On the map, click the System Valve, Isolation Zone feature to select it.

   

5. In the Attributes pane, for Asset type, choose System.

   

6. At the bottom of the Attributes pane, click Apply or ensure that Auto Apply is checked.

   On the map, the valve's label changes to System Valve, System. A dirty area appears on the map, with the blue Dirty symbol, to indicate that the valve has been edited and needs to be validated.

   

7. On the ribbon, click the Utility Network tab. In the Network Topology group, click Validate.

   The dirty area disappears, but three new ones appear, this time with the red Error symbol.

   

   Sometimes, when you edit a map to correct it, you can cause new errors to appear. This is okay; it only means that you need to make a few more edits before the correction is complete. Next, you'll fix the new errors by removing terminal connections.

   You received error 36: Line feature has invalid terminal because the lines are trying to connect to the valve through terminals. Isolation valves have terminals, which are necessary to uniquely identify the isolation zones on either side of the valve. However, system valves do not have terminals. To resolve the error, you'll remove the invalid terminal connections from the lines on either side of the valve.

8. Reopen the Modify Terminal Connections pane.

   Tip:

   If you can't find the Modify Terminal Connections pane, on the ribbon, on the Utility Network tab, in the Network Topology group, click Terminal Connections.

9. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, ensure that Select a line feature is active.
10. On the map, click the Water Main, Distribution Main line above (north) of the system valve to select it.

    

11. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, for To: System Valve, click the remove button.

    

    The To: System Valve and System Valve text is crossed out.

    Note:

    If To: System Valve does not appear in the Modify Terminal Connections pane, in the Contents pane, right-click the Labels layer and choose Remove. If the Removing a layer window appears, click Save.

12. Click Apply.

    On the map, the dirty area northeast of the valve changes to the Dirty and Error symbol.

    

13. On the map, click the Water Main, Distribution Main line below (south) of the system valve to select it.

    

14. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, for From: System Valve, click the remove button. Click Apply.

    The dirty area south of the valve also updates to the Dirty and Error symbol. Next, you'll validate your edits.

15. If necessary, on the map, zoom out until you can see all three dirty areas fully.

    

16. On the ribbon, on the Utility Network tab, in the Network Topology group, click Validate.

    The dirty areas disappear from the map.

    

17. Right-click anywhere on the map and click Clear.
18. On the ribbon, on the Edit tab, in the Manage Edits group, click Save. In the Save Edits window, click Yes.

    You've updated the Asset type of a valve. When you validated your edits, new invalid terminal connection errors (error 36) were created. You resolved these by removing terminal connections from the lines. Another way to resolve this error that might be appropriate in other situations is to modify the terminal connections.

    Note:

    To learn how to resolve this error by changing a configuration, see Fix invalid terminal connection errors in the tutorial Configure rules for a utility network.

Fix terminal connections after deleting a feature

There is a second inaccuracy on the map. You have been told that the check flow valve in this area does not exist. You'll remove it from the map, which will cause two errors. To resolve the errors, you'll remove terminal connections.

1. If necessary, navigate to the Bookmark 4 bookmark.
2. On the map, click the Flow Valve, Check feature to select it.

   

3. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Delete.

   

4. In the Delete window, click Yes.

   A new dirty area appears in place of the valve.

   

5. On the ribbon, click the Utility Network tab. In the Network Topology group, click Validate.

   New errors appear on the map.

   

   You'll focus on error 36 first because error 10: Invalid connectivity – The edges are different subtypes and cannot connect can sometimes be a byproduct of other errors which prevent features from connecting.

   Error 36: Line feature has invalid terminal occurs because the Water Main, Distribution Main lines are still referencing the terminal of the deleted device. The solution to this error is the same as the one you learned earlier in this tutorial: to remove terminal connections from the water main lines.

6. On the map, select the line segment running through the smaller dirty area.

   

7. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, for To: None, click the remove button.

   

8. Click Apply.

   The smaller dirty area changes to the Dirty and Error symbol.

9. Select the line segment that runs through the larger dirty area.

   

10. In the Modify Terminal Connections pane, for From: None, click the remove button. Click Apply.

    Both dirty areas change to the Dirty and Error symbol.

11. On the map, zoom out until you can see both dirty areas in full.

    

12. On the ribbon, on the Utility Network tab, in the Network Topology group, click Validate.

    The dirty areas and errors are removed from the map.

13. Clear the selection.
14. On the ribbon, on the Edit tab, in the Manage Edits group, click Save. In the Save Edits window, click Yes.
15. Save the project.

In this tutorial, you learned how to edit data in a utility network, how to validate edits, and how to resolve errors. In particular, you learned about the most common causes and fixes for connectivity errors.

Next, try the tutorial Fix topology errors in a utility network to learn about other topology errors and how to fix them. If you're interested in learning how an administrator configures connectivity rules, try the Configure rules for a utility network tutorial. To learn more about utility network topology errors, try the following resources:

• For examples and solutions for all topology errors, read the articles in the Editing and Connectivity with ArcGIS Utility Network series.
• If you have a dataset with a lot of errors, download the Utility Data Management Support Tools and run the SummarizeUNErrors tool to generate reports to help prioritize data cleanup.
• To experiment with a sample utility network, try one of the utility network foundation solutions.

You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.

Acknowledgements

• Map data: used with permission from the City of Naperville.
• Cover photo: Maha Heang 245789 - stock.adobe.com,
• Light Gray Canvas map sources: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community