Mesa Uses Smart Tech to Boost Water Efficiency

City's water resources planning adviser explains how SCADA, AMI meters, and recycled sewer trucks strengthen water resiliency.

Mar. 24, 2026 at 4:15pm

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Melody Zyburt, a water resources planning adviser for the city of Mesa, Arizona, discusses how the city is using smart technologies like SCADA, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), and a water-recycling sewer-cleaning truck to improve water efficiency and conservation. Zyburt explains how the new AMI meters have uncovered previously undetected water leaks, leading to closer coordination with property owners. She also highlights the city's water-recycling sewer truck, which has saved over 1 million gallons of water in its first six months of use. Zyburt emphasizes how Mesa's water infrastructure planning is closely integrated with other city departments, such as transportation and IT, to maximize efficiency and minimize disruption.

Why it matters

As water scarcity becomes an increasing concern in the American Southwest, cities like Mesa are turning to smart technologies to strengthen their water resiliency. By using data-driven approaches to identify and address water waste, Mesa is setting an example for how municipalities can take proactive steps to conserve this precious resource.

The details

Mesa's transition to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has provided the city with unprecedented visibility into water usage patterns. The new AMI meters have uncovered over 300 continuous-use notifications per month, indicating previously undetected leaks on the customer side of the meter. This has required close coordination with property owners to identify and repair these leaks. In the future, Mesa plans to roll out a customer portal to allow residents to monitor their water use in real time.

  • Within the first six months of using the water-recycling sewer-cleaning truck, Mesa saved more than 1 million gallons of water.
  • After one year of using the water-recycling sewer truck, Mesa projects savings of about 2 million gallons of water annually.

The players

Melody Zyburt

A water resources planning adviser for the city of Mesa, Arizona.

Mesa

A city in Arizona that is using smart technologies to improve water efficiency and conservation.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“As we install AMI meters, we're seeing continuous-use notifications that simply weren't captured before. These notifications often indicate leaks on the customer side of the meter. Since beginning the transition, we've seen more than 300 continuous-use notifications per month just from the new meters alone.”

— Melody Zyburt, Water Resources Planning Adviser

“Within the first six months of using this truck, we saved more than 1 million gallons of water. Traditional sewer-cleaning trucks rely on potable water, which is taken from hydrants and then sent directly to wastewater treatment after use. With this new truck, we're reusing water instead of discarding it.”

— Melody Zyburt, Water Resources Planning Adviser

What’s next

Mesa plans to roll out a customer portal in the future to allow residents to monitor their water use in real time.

The takeaway

By embracing smart technologies like SCADA, AMI meters, and water-recycling sewer trucks, Mesa is demonstrating how data-driven approaches can significantly improve water efficiency and conservation, setting an example for other municipalities facing water scarcity challenges.