Sedona recognizes Lehi Springs for yearlong sustainability work after automated meters cut water use

The Sedona City Council on an agenda item about sustainability recognized the Lehi Springs neighborhood for completing the city’s Sustainable Neighborhoods program and for installing an automated water‑metering system that residents say produced immediate water savings.

The recognition followed a presentation by sustainability staff and comments from neighborhood residents who described how the program works and the results of the water‑meter project. "Zach was informed, responsive, explanatory, helpful, friendly, fun," resident Susie Cole Bath said, thanking city staff for support. Russell Kolbaff, the Lehi Springs water‑management team leader, said the neighborhood’s meter system became fully operational April 25 and that, comparing May 2025 with averaged May months from 2023–24, the system tracked a water savings of 218,000 gallons.

The Sustainable Neighborhoods program lets an accepted neighborhood form a small leadership team to plan education, events and projects. For each activity the neighborhood completes it receives credits; reaching a threshold earns recognition from the city and program partners. Lehi Springs earned an "outstanding sustainable neighborhood" designation after logging credits for two major projects, two special events, two collection events and three informational workshops over the year. The neighborhood hosted a Solar 101 workshop that led eight of 18 attendees to install rooftop panels, ran holiday potlucks and a Fourth of July gathering that engaged 94 neighbors, and collected more than 220 pounds of food for a food bank and more than 94 tools for a local tool‑lending library.

Lehi Springs installed automated, non‑billing meters at each lot to monitor irrigation and detect leaks. "The automatic metering is our individual... meters at each property, but they're not used for billing, they're only used for tracking leaks and accountability," Kolbaff said. He told the council Lehi Springs monitors 98 active meters with six vacant lots and that the system’s web‑based alarms notify them of potential leaks within hours instead of weeks.

Zach (staff from the sustainability department) and other city staff said the department helped residents locate grant opportunities and wrote letters of support. Brycean staff said Lehi Springs received a $5,000 grant (Friends of the Verde was identified as a grant source) that helped pay for meter installations. Staff noted the Sustainable Neighborhoods program is intended to connect residents with resources and to help other neighborhoods replicate successful projects.

City staff and residents requested a photograph with council to mark the certification, and the city said it plans to install a signage marker recognizing Lehi Springs as a certified sustainable neighborhood for the year. Residents also said they are willing to share the metering technology and lessons learned with other subdivisions that have contacted them.

Council members asked clarifying questions about whether metering was voluntary; Kolbaff said Lehi Springs has HOA rules requiring meters for each lot. Staff and residents discussed outreach to recruit additional neighborhoods and the availability of grant funding through programs such as Friends of the Verde and other local fundraising strategies.

As described during the meeting, Lehi Springs will continue participating in the program and is already planning activities for the next year. The city said it will continue supporting neighborhood teams with resources and advice so other neighborhoods can pursue similar projects.