SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 28, 2026--
ASTERRA, a global leader in satellite-based, AI-driven water leak detection, announced the positive results of its collaboration with multiple New Mexico water utilities. Building on this success, the state of New Mexico has awarded ASTERRA a four-year contract to extend its technology to additional utilities statewide through a program called LeakTracer.
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In partnership with the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), ASTERRA worked with utilities in Truth or Consequences, Bernalillo, Cloudcroft, Timberon, and Tranquillo Pines to identify non-surfacing leaks that traditional methods often miss. The first phase, completed in May 2025, uncovered 82 leaks and reduced water loss by 240 gallons per minute (GPM), a major step toward sustainable water management.
“The state has been very generous to us by funding pipeline replacements and also helping us find leaks with ASTERRA, which is a game changer,” said Rolf Hechler, mayor of Truth or Consequences. “We used to find leaks the old-fashioned way, waiting for them to surface. Finding hidden leaks ahead of time saves us water, money, and time. It is a perfect solution.”
Working alongside McKim & Creed field inspectors, ASTERRA’s satellite analytics pinpointed 31 leaks in just two days, many buried deep underground or invisible at the surface. This precision is critical in New Mexico’s challenging terrain, where geothermal hot springs complicate conventional detection methods.
“Every leak we fix is water saved for our community,” added Mayor Hechler. “Satellite imagery has become an important part of our leak detection efforts, and we plan to keep relying on this technology in the future.”
The LeakTracer program aligns with New Mexico’s 50-Year Water Action Plan, reinforcing the state’s commitment to long-term water sustainability and loss prevention. Eligible utilities can now access state-assisted satellite leak detection services under this new initiative.
Utilities interested in participating should visit the NMED’s LeakTracer webpage at https://www.env.nm.gov/leaktracer/. In addition, those interested in the program can call the LeakTracer hotline at (505) 841-LEAK.
About ASTERRA
ASTERRA provides actionable intelligence for infrastructure management, water conservation, and environmental monitoring using data from satellites and artificial intelligence. Its solutions help utilities, governments, and industries detect underground leaks, assess soil moisture, and manage water and wastewater systems and infrastructure more efficiently. ASTERRA has helped more than 600 customers worldwide find 191,000 leaks and save 840 billion gallons of water and millions of dollars annually. For more information on ASTERRA and to learn more about their technology, visit https://asterra.io.
Satellite data directs field inspectors to areas of interest for faster repair times.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed defiance Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw Washington’s support for Iraq if he returns to power.
Al-Maliki, who was nominated last week by the country’s dominant political bloc to return to the premiership, said in a statement: “We reject the blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and consider it a violation of its sovereignty."
Trump in a social media post Tuesday wrote, “Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos,” adding, “Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq and, if we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom.”
Washington has been pushing Iraq to distance itself from Iran and sees al-Maliki as too close to Tehran. His last term, which ended in 2014, also saw the rise of the Islamic State group, which seized large swaths of the country.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s list of candidates won the largest share of seats in November’s parliamentary elections. But he stepped aside earlier this month, clearing the field for al-Maliki after the two competed for the backing of the Coordination Framework, a collection of Shiite parties that is the largest parliamentary bloc.
The framework named al-Maliki as its nominee last week. A parliament session was set to take place Tuesday to elect a president, who in turn would appoint the prime minister, but the session was canceled due to a lack of quorum, with no alternate date set.
Al-Maliki said he would continue to stand for the premiership “out of respect for the national will and the Coordination Framework’s decision.”
Before Trump's statement, members of the Coordination Framework had received a written message from U.S. Charge d'Affaires Joshua Harris saying that “we recall the period of previous governments headed by Prime Minister Maliki negatively in Washington." Two members of the Coordination Framework confirmed to The Associated Press having received the message, a copy of which was circulated widely on social media.
“The selection of the prime minister-designate and other leadership positions is a sovereign Iraqi decision, and likewise, the United States will make its sovereign decisions regarding the next government in accordance with U.S. interests,” the message said.
A U.S. embassy spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s intervention into Iraqi politics came as he weighs carrying out new strikes on Iraq’s neighbor Iran. It also comes as the U.S. has started transferring Islamic State group militants from detention sites in Syria to ones in Iraq.
Al-Sudani came to power with the backing of the Coordination Framework in 2022 but during his first term managed to balance relations with Iran and the U.S. and restrained pro-Iran militias from intervening in support of Iran during last year’s 12-day Israel-Iran war.
Some of those militias have voiced their support for al-Maliki.
Abu Alaa al-Walae, commander of the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada militia, called Trump’s statement “blatant interference in Iraqi affairs,"adding that “the criminal Trump, who physically assassinated the leaders of victory now wants to repeat the act by politically assassinating” al-Maliki.
During his first term, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed powerful Iranian military leader Gen. Qassim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group composed of an array of militias, including Iran-backed groups, formed to fight the Islamic State group.
Tamer Badawi, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London specializing in Iraq, said that al-Sudani may well have anticipated the pushback against al-Maliki’s nomination and stepped aside as a political maneuver. That allows al-Maliki to “temporarily steal the spotlight," while the rival candidate's “path to office narrows under the weight of his domestic opponents and even sharper hostility from the Trump camp,” he said.
“Iraq cannot afford the economic consequences of Donald Trump delivering upon his threats,” he said. Those could include imposing sanctions and restricting Iraq’s access to its own supply of U.S. dollars - Iraq’s foreign currency reserves have been housed at the United States’ Federal Reserve.
But that “does not automatically mean the race is now decided in Sudani’s favor,” Badawi said. “A third candidate emerging as a compromise pick remains one of the plausible outcomes.”
Despite the political tensions, the U.S. and Iraq have continued to cooperate, most recently with an agreement to transfer some 7,000 unsuspected IS members from prisons in Syria to Iraq. A new batch of prisoners was transferred on Wednesday, bringing the total to 821.
FILE - Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrives to his political block campaign rally before the parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)
