Utilities: Page
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Cities sound alarm on crumbling water infrastructure
Aging assets, stricter regulations, climate risks and fiscal restraints are contributing to problems long hidden underground, a new National League of Cities report finds.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • May 15, 2026 -
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Smart meters have saved Austin, Texas, more than a billion of gallons of water, utility says
The meters, which detect leaks and provide daily water-use reports, are helping to build “a more sustainable water future for generations to come,” the city’s water chief says.
By Ryan Kushner • May 14, 2026 -
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TrendlineEnergy Codes and Building Performance Standards
Cities are using these levers to meet climate goals and address everything from data centers to building decarbonization.
By Smart Cities Dive staff -
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Aging infrastructure, climate risks shake water sector confidence: report
Century-old systems, extreme weather, cyberthreats and regulatory inconsistencies threaten future water supply and resilience, the American Water Works Association found.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Updated May 14, 2026 -
Cole Rosengren/Smart Cities Dive
Providence, Rhode Island, updates recycling, organics with $3.6M in grants
Free commercial recycling service, residential recycling carts and organics infrastructure are among the changes the city has made with the help of EPA and USDA funding.
By Cole Rosengren • May 8, 2026 -
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‘Supplemental’ municipal utility begins solar-and-storage installations in Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility will use locally sited solar, batteries and other resources to improve reliability and lower costs for subscribers, city officials say.
By Brian Martucci • May 7, 2026 -
Permission granted by Jean Schwarzwalder/NYC Environmental Protection
Meet the 2026 Smart Cities Dive Public Service Award winners
Read about the local government leaders in Florida, New York and Texas being honored for how they’re driving local impact.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • April 30, 2026 -
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Water reuse is essential for economic growth, the EPA says. Experts see obstacles ahead.
EPA’s Water Reuse Action Plan 2.0 positions recycled water as critical to industries like semiconductors and data centers, but local capacity, policy gaps and lingering stigma could complicate delivery, an expert says.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • April 28, 2026 -
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Houston expands multifamily recycling pilot
About half of Houston residents live in apartments, but most lack recycling access. A pilot supported by The Recycling Partnership and Alliance to End Plastic Waste aims to change that.
By Megan Quinn • April 24, 2026 -
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Boston eyes water-based thermal network to ease grid strain
The BosTEN initiative explores whether a closed-loop system using thermal energy from the city’s waterways can deliver scalable heating and cooling — and what regulatory hurdles could stop it.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • April 17, 2026 -
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Mamdani commits to containerizing New York’s residential waste by 2032
New leaders in City Hall are beginning to negotiate the sanitation budget, and they want containerization to be part of the picture. But challenges still lie ahead.
By Jacob Wallace • April 14, 2026 -
Courtesy of Recology
OpinionWhy waste diversion pilots struggle to scale
The problem is rarely technology. It’s the upstream behavior inside homes and buildings.
By Cam Anderson • April 14, 2026 -
Retrieved from Tennessee Valley Authority/Wikimedia Commons.
EPA proposes weakening power plant coal ash protections
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin framed the proposal as “commonsense changes,” but environmental advocates say it threatens drinking water.
By Robert Walton • April 10, 2026 -
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The EPA wants to test for microplastics in drinking water. Here’s what that means for cities.
Microplastics pose risks that science and monitoring tools aren’t equipped to fully capture, which could produce “uninformative and potentially misleading” results, an expert says.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • April 8, 2026 -
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Energy authority is ‘actively monitoring the grid’ following Iran-linked cyber threat
Hackers have disrupted critical U.S. infrastructure by targeting programmable logic controllers, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned.
By Robert Walton • April 8, 2026 -
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How cities can encourage faster, cheaper rooftop solar
Permitting delays, inconsistent inspections and local utility rules add thousands to rooftop solar costs, pushing installers to avoid certain jurisdictions. Cities can fix that, a new report says.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • April 2, 2026 -
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Opinion3 things cities can do to address the water crisis
Water infrastructure in the U.S. needs to be updated, and city leaders have a critical role to play.
By Kevin Gast • April 1, 2026 -
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Cities, states, environmental groups sue EPA over repeal of mercury and air toxics standards
Public health and environmental groups say the rollback puts communities at risk. The EPA says it will cut transportation and energy costs.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Updated April 1, 2026 -
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Puget Sound Energy is turning to EVs for backup power and grid support
The utility is partnering with Ford and Kia to test whether electric vehicles can keep homes running and support grid resilience during outages.
By Brian Martucci • March 26, 2026 -
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Driver’s license rule affecting non-citizens takes effect despite waste hauler concerns
With the new rule, the Trump administration is "jeopardizing the essential services our communities rely on every day,” a union representing public employees said.
By Megan Quinn • March 17, 2026 -
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New York needs more time to meet climate goals, Hochul says
“We just need some breathing room,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, noting high cost estimates for compliance with the 2030 goal. “My job is dealing in reality. This is the reality I have.”
By Diana DiGangi • March 13, 2026 -
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Brooklyn project shows feasibility of using geothermal in dense urban areas
Although installation costs are higher than for conventional systems, geothermal is cheaper over the long term, project consultants say.
By Robert Freedman • March 4, 2026 -
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Data CentersData centers pursue on-site power as state and local leaders worry about their impact on utility bills: report
State elections last year demonstrated “voter angst around inflation in utility bills,” according to the report's author. “We’d expect more of the same this year.”
By Robert Walton • Feb. 17, 2026 -
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Federal energy-assistance programs survive budget gauntlet
President Trump signed budget bills to maintain funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program on Feb. 3, 2026.
By Brian Martucci • Feb. 6, 2026 -
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Data CentersKansas City, Missouri, moves to the forefront of data center zoning with new ordinance
U.S. communities are watching closely as Kansas City reclassifies data centers as industrial facilities and launches a review of their impacts on water, power, climate goals and economic growth.
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Feb. 6, 2026 -
Cole Rosengren/Smart Cities Dive
Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Miami metros debate incinerator plans
Advocates continue to pressure officials to close or cut off waste shipments to incinerators in Minneapolis and the Philadelphia area. But progress continues on an incinerator in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
By Jacob Wallace • Jan. 29, 2026
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