LeakTracer — New Mexico's Statewide Satellite AI Leak-Detection Program

New Mexico's Environment Department (NMED) has been working with the satellite-analytics company ASTERRA to find water leaks that traditional listening and inspection methods miss, particularly non-surfacing leaks buried underground in the state's geothermally complicated terrain.
Under the "LeakTracer" program, ASTERRA's L-band satellite radar and AI algorithms scanned water networks in five utilities — Truth or Consequences, Bernalillo, Cloudcroft, Timberon and Tranquillo Pines — distinguishing potable-water leaks from geothermal groundwater signals, with field crews from McKim & Creed verifying the flagged sites on the ground.
Phase 1, completed in May 2025, identified 82 leaks and reduced water loss by an estimated 240 gallons per minute; in Truth or Consequences alone, satellite analytics pinpointed 31 leaks in just two days. Based on these results, the state awarded ASTERRA a four-year contract to extend the service to additional utilities statewide, aligned with New Mexico's 50-Year Water Action Plan.
The figures come from state and vendor press materials rather than an independently audited evaluation, and no cost-per-leak or false-positive rate has been published, so the program's efficiency compared with conventional leak surveys is not yet independently verified.

Read the full analysis: https://www.waterworld.com/water-utility-management/news/55354250/new-mexico-expands-satellite-leak-detection-program-with-asterra

Read the full analysis: https://www.waterworld.com/water-utility-management/news/55354250/new-mexico-expands-satellite-leak-detection-program-with-asterra