Authored by: By Maia Rodriguez
Last week, I had the opportunity to join our Infrastructure Specialist, Denise Gonzalez, for a site visit in Angel Fire, New Mexico. The purpose of this visit was to launch the next phase of their Metering as a Service project with Sustainability Partners. As someone who works primarily in marketing and operations, it was incredible to see firsthand how these projects actually come to life in the field.
Rolling into Angel Fire in the early morning hours was dreamy. As a northern New Mexican, there is nothing quite like reconnecting with the cool mountain air, feeling the sunshine stretch across the valley, and smelling the sweet vanilla scent of the ponderosa pine all around us. The Village, home to about 1,100 residents, has welcomed generations of seasonal visitors since the ski resort opened in 1966, including my family and me during the winter months.
Like many small mountain communities, Angel Fire faces the ongoing challenge of maintaining aging infrastructure. Many of the village’s water meters are outdated, and some are no longer functioning at all. Without accurate readings, the Village has often had to rely on flat-rate billing, resulting in significant lost revenue.
The solution is a modern Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) smart water meter system. These meters include acoustic leak detection technology, allowing the Village to identify leaks quickly and accurately without unnecessary excavation. Even a small leak of just 5 to 7 gallons per hour can result in nearly 3,000 gallons of water loss each month. Multiply that across dozens of leaks, and the impact becomes substantial, both financially and environmentally, especially in a drought-prone state like New Mexico.
During the visit, we met with the Village’s Water Superintendent, Evan Trujillo-Archuleta, who showed us the smart meter stock the UMS team will deploy. Evan explained that before smart meters, they would not have been able to find leaks for days. Something as simple as a toilet running could cost a resident hundreds of dollars, and possibly even more, considering some of these homes sit unused during the off-season.
One of the biggest benefits of the new system has been accurate billing. Previously, without reliable meter readings, the Village often billed residents at minimum usage rates, resulting in significant revenue loss. With the new AMI technology, they can now track usage accurately and confidently validate readings. The Village believes they have already received $500,000 in revenue since replacing the existing meters this past year alone!
We also visited several installation sites alongside our partners from ResourceWise and UMS.
Like most people, I’ve seen utility boxes outside homes my entire life without giving much thought to what is happening underground. I was surprised to learn that some of the meters are buried more than 50 inches deep! Replacing them requires tremendous precision and effort.
What stood out most to me was the level of care our contractors take to avoid disrupting surrounding infrastructure and residents during installation.
The Village worked closely with the project team to ensure residents received advance notice about upcoming work, including any temporary water shutoffs.
Overall, I was incredibly impressed by the professionalism, coordination, and attention to detail involved in these AMI water meter installations. It is rewarding to know we are helping modernize infrastructure in a community that captures so much of the spirit and beauty of northern New Mexico.
This next phase of the project is expected to be completed this fall. I’m looking forward to returning to Angel Fire to see the continued progress and hopefully spend a little time on the slopes next winter.
