Background

Doña Ana County (DAC) currently provides water and wastewater services to the unincorporated areas of the county. During 2011 and 2012, DAC merged a portion of its water and wastewater infrastructure located in the southern most region of the county with the infrastructure assets of the City of Sunland Park to create the new regional utility,
CRRUA. Its service area begins at the U.S.-Mexico border in Sunland Park, New Mexico and extends north for approximately five miles. CRRUA provides service to about 5,464 water hook-ups and 5,464 wastewater connections. Its current wastewater treatment capacity is 2.8 million gallons a day (mgd).

CRRUA’s existing water meters are antiquated and do not have the capabilities typically associated with modern metering systems. The meters must be read manually, do not have any data storage capabilities, and cannot be integrated with the billing system. Consequently, many water connections are not properly metered, making it difficult to
determine how much of the utility’s water production is being used and how much is lost due to leakage.

To address this situation, CRRUA has developed a meter replacement program for Sunland Park and Santa Teresa. Based on data collected from the new meters, CRRUA will be able to fully utilize a water conservation rate structure and implement an improved leak detection
program, which is anticipated to reduce unaccounted water losses and preserve water resources.

Description

The project consists of replacing approximately 2,150 meters and
includes:

• Purchase and installation of an estimated 2,150 meters and
  related interface units and box lids.
• Meter reading equipment: Two drive-by receivers, one handheld receiver, and two laptops; and.
• Data collection and billing software.

Benefits

A modern water metering system will contribute to improved water resource management and conservation by helping the utility to detect leaks in the distribution system and develop effective conservation strategies. Additionally, CRRUA estimates that time required for meter
reading will be reduced from 240 to 150 man-hours/month, reducing the cost of this monthly task and freeing up utility resources for other operation and maintenance activities.