Smarter Pipes, Sharper People: How Cities Can Integrate Technology Without Losing the Plot
Somewhere in America, a water main just broke. Wait two minutes and another one will. The United States logs roughly 240,000 water main breaks a year, at a repair bill of about $2.6 billion,¹ and most residents only think about the pipes under their feet when the coffee maker sputters and the street turns into a river.
Here is the good news. The 2025 national infrastructure report card gave the country an overall C, the highest grade since the American Society of Civil Engineers started grading in 1998.² Here is the less good news. Stormwater and transit still earned a D, and nine categories still landed in the D range.² A C is a passing grade. It is not a grade anyone frames.
Technology is supposed to be the tutor that pulls the grade up. Sensors, predictive analytics, AI, and digital dashboards really can help. But cities have also learned, sometimes painfully, that buying a shiny tool is the easy part. Getting it to work for the people who fix pipes, plow roads, and answer resident complaints at 7 a.m. is the real job. Whether you lead a department or you started your first public-sector role last month, this is a story you get to help write.
Defining System Requirements: Measure Twice, Buy Once
If you want a cautionary tale, look at Birmingham, England. In 2018, Europe's largest local authority set out to replace an aging finance and HR system with Oracle. The original price tag was about £19 million. By early 2026, the forecast had climbed to £144.4 million, five years past the planned go-live date, with more than £5 million spent on staff doing manual workarounds and fraud-detection audits switched off for over 18 months.³ The council had planned to use the software "out of the box," then customized it anyway, and the failure contributed to the council declaring itself effectively bankrupt in 2023.³
What went wrong was not the code alone. External auditors described a culture where "either bad news was not welcome, or officers felt uncomfortable to communicate bad news."⁴ They also found end users were "unprepared and unequipped to use the system."⁵ In other words, the requirements were written for a spreadsheet, not for the humans who would live inside it.
Good requirements start with workflows, not features. Before any vendor demo, walk the process with the people who do the work. Shadow the crew supervisor who logs pothole repairs. Ask the billing clerk where the old system makes her want to scream. Then write requirements in plain language that a new hire could understand.
A short set of questions keeps everyone honest:
What problem are we solving, and how will we know it is solved in 12 months?
Who will touch this system daily, and have they seen it?
Are we changing our process to fit the software, or the software to fit our process, and do we understand the cost of each?
What happens to our data if we leave this vendor?
For leaders: make it safe to deliver bad news early. A red flag in month three is cheap. A red flag at go-live is a headline.
For early-career professionals: you are often closest to the real workflow. Volunteer for requirements sessions. Your "dumb question" is frequently the one that saves the budget.
Leveraging Data Analytics: From Firefighter to Fortune Teller
Syracuse, New York, used to do what most cities do with water mains: wait for them to burst, then rush a crew out. Working with the University of Chicago's Data Science for Social Good program, the city's innovation team built a model to predict which mains were most likely to fail.⁶ The data hunt was gloriously unglamorous. Fellows pulled information from decades-old field notebooks and hand-drawn diagrams, some dating back to the 1800s.⁷ Within two weeks of delivering the risk list, two of the mains in the top 50 ruptured.⁷
The payoff was real. Syracuse became five times more likely to spot a risky main,⁶ saw an 18 percent decline in water main breaks, and saved more than $430,000 a year in repairs.⁸ The city also used the model to plan "dig once" projects, pairing pipe replacement with road resurfacing so residents did not watch the same street get torn up twice.⁷
The lesson is that analytics does not require a perfect data lake. It requires a clear question, a willingness to clean up messy records, and staff who know what the numbers mean. That is why data literacy belongs in training plans for crew leads and analysts alike, and why every city needs basic data governance: who owns each dataset, who can change it, and how it is protected.
Try this: pick one recurring headache, such as main breaks, missed trash pickups, or streetlight outages, and pull three years of records. Map them. Patterns often appear before you ever buy software.
Implementing Advanced Technologies: Start Small, Learn Fast
South Bend, Indiana, had a sewer problem that sounds like a riddle: what do you do when rain and sewage share the same pipes and the river keeps getting the overflow? The original federal consent plan called for roughly $713 million in new tanks and bigger pipes.⁹ Instead, the city partnered with University of Notre Dame researchers and the firm EmNet to install a network of sensors and smart valves that move flow in real time to parts of the system with spare room.⁹ ¹⁰
The system cost about $7 million to implement.¹¹ It has cut combined sewer overflow volumes by more than 70 percent, roughly a billion gallons a year, saves about $1.5 million annually in operations and maintenance, and helped the city avoid about $500 million in capital spending.¹² The revised plan now costs $276 million.⁹ As former Public Works Director Eric Horvath put it, "we're optimizing the flow that goes through sewers we've already paid for."¹³
South Bend did not flip a switch overnight. Sensors went in first, data was collected for years, and the evidence was used to win over regulators and residents through 19 public meetings.¹⁰ That is the pilot mindset in action: test, measure, adjust, then scale.
For leaders: fund pilots with clear success measures and an honest "stop" option. A pilot that fails quietly and cheaply is a win.
For early-career professionals: pilots are where careers are made. Ask to help collect data, write the evaluation, or present results. It is the fastest way to learn how a city actually works.
Overcoming Challenges in Technology Integration: The People Part Is the Hard Part
Legacy systems, tight budgets, and resistance to change are the usual suspects. But the biggest variable is often the workforce. In the 2025 MissionSquare survey of state and local governments, 46 percent said the biggest wave of retirements is still to come, yet 61 percent had no succession planning process in place.¹⁴ Engineering remains the hardest role to fill, flagged by more than 70 percent of respondents.¹⁵
Picture a 30-year veteran who knows which valve sticks in January and which neighborhood floods first. That knowledge is not in any database. If a new system arrives while that person is heading for retirement, the city can lose both the tool and the wisdom in the same year.
The fix is to pair technology rollouts with knowledge transfer. Put veterans and new hires on the same implementation team. Let the veteran explain why the old way exists; let the new hire show what the new tool can do. Train in short, repeated sessions instead of one marathon day, and appoint "super users" in each unit who colleagues can ask without filing a ticket. Communicate early and often about what the technology will and will not change about people's jobs, because silence breeds rumors faster than any vendor can deliver updates.
Strengthening Cybersecurity: Lock the Doors Before You Add More Windows
On July 25, 2025, St. Paul, Minnesota, noticed suspicious activity on its network. By July 29, the governor had activated the Minnesota National Guard because the attack's "magnitude and complexity" had exceeded the city's response capacity.¹⁶ Mayor Melvin Carter called it "a deliberate, coordinated digital attack."¹⁷ About 3,500 employees had to reset their passwords,¹⁸ and nearly three months later, the city reported that 75 percent of its systems had been restored.¹⁹
The uncomfortable truth is that many breaches start with basics. When the EPA inspected community water systems, more than 70 percent were out of compliance with basic federal requirements, and inspectors found default passwords that were never changed, single logins shared by all staff, and former employees who still had access.²⁰
St. Paul also shows what preparation buys you. Because relationships with state partners were in place before the attack, the city's chief information officer said no one was "fighting for turf" when the crisis hit.¹⁹ Security works best when it is designed into projects from day one, not bolted on after launch.
A few moves any team can make this month:
Change every default password and end shared logins.
Remove access for departed staff the day they leave.
Back up critical systems and test whether the backups actually restore.
Run a one-hour tabletop exercise: "Our network is down. Who calls whom?"
Building Resilient Infrastructure: Pay a Little Now or a Lot Later
Resilience is the ability to take a punch and keep serving residents, whether the punch is a flood, a heat wave, or a ransomware gang. It is also one of the best bargains in government. Research from the National Institute of Building Sciences found that federal hazard mitigation grants save an average of $6 for every $1 invested, and adopting the latest building codes saves $11 for every $1.²¹
Think of it like car maintenance. Nobody brags about an oil change, but everyone remembers the engine that seized on the highway. Resilient planning considers environmental, social, and economic risks together, and it works best when residents help set priorities. Neighbors know which corner floods, which bus stop has no shade, and which elderly residents need a knock on the door during a storm. That local knowledge is free data, and it builds trust that pays off when the city needs public support for the next investment.
Embracing Innovation for Sustainable Growth: Borrow Brains Generously
Notice the pattern in the best examples above. Syracuse teamed up with a university fellowship that provided $125,000 in in-kind services in exchange for access to the city's data.⁶ South Bend's breakthrough started when Notre Dame researchers approached city leaders with an idea.¹⁰ Neither city had to invent everything alone.
Innovation culture is less about hackathons and beanbag chairs and more about permission: permission to test, to fail small, and to share what you learned. Cities can partner with local colleges for capstone projects, join peer networks to swap lessons, and open-source what they build so the next city does not start from zero. Syracuse's model code was shared publicly for exactly that reason.⁷
For leaders, the job is to protect experiments from being punished as mistakes. For people early in their careers, the job is to stay curious, connect dots across departments, and bring ideas forward even when they feel half-baked. Half-baked ideas are how most good ones start.
Looking Ahead: The Ball Is in Your Court
The pipes will keep aging. The hackers will keep knocking. The veterans will keep retiring. None of that is a reason for despair. Syracuse turned old notebooks into a forecast. South Bend turned sensors into half a billion dollars in savings. St. Paul turned preparation into a faster recovery. These were not mega-cities with unlimited budgets. They were teams that asked better questions and refused to wait for the next break.
So here is the assignment, and it is yours, not the vendor's. Leaders, pick one system this quarter and walk it with the people who use it every day before you spend another dollar on it. Early-career professionals, pick one dataset, one pilot, or one policy and ask to be part of it. Everyone, change that default password today.
Infrastructure will never be glamorous. But the people who make it smarter, safer, and stronger are quietly running the most important operating system in America. The question is not whether your city will modernize. The question is whether you will be one of the people who makes it work.
Notes
American Society of Civil Engineers, "Drinking Water," in 2025 Report Card for America's Infrastructure (Reston, VA: ASCE, 2025), 61, https://www.jmeagle.com/sites/default/files/Drinking-Water-file.pdf.
American Society of Civil Engineers, "ASCE Report Card Gives U.S. Infrastructure Highest-Ever 'C' Grade, Stresses Need for Sustained Investment to Support Economic Growth," press release, March 25, 2025, https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/society-news/article/2025/03/25/asce-report-card-gives-us-infrastructure-highest-ever-c-grade.
"Birmingham City Council's Oracle ERP Fiasco Now £144M and Still Not Working," The Register, January 29, 2026, https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/01/29/birmingham-oracle-erp-fiasco-now-144m-and-still-not-working/4238750.
"Auditors Highlight Poor Oversight and Reporting at City Council over Troubled IT Programme," Local Government Lawyer, accessed October 20, 2026, https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/projects-and-regeneration/403-projects-news/60078-auditors-highlight-poor-oversight-and-reporting-at-city-council-over-troubled-it-programme.
"Birmingham City Council's Oracle Implementation Explained: What Went Wrong," Computer Weekly, accessed October 20, 2026, https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366572935/Birmingham-City-Councils-Oracle-implementation-explained-What-went-wrong.
"Syracuse i-Team: Upgrading Infrastructure on a Limited Budget," Data-Smart City Solutions, Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center, accessed October 20, 2026, https://datasmart.hks.harvard.edu/news/article/syracuse-i-team-unearthing-value-through-infrastructure-coordination-1089.
"Preventive Care for the City's Circulatory System," Center for Data and Computing, University of Chicago, accessed October 20, 2026, https://voices.uchicago.edu/compinst/blog/preventive-care-citys-circulatory-system/.
"A Profile in Bold Leadership: Stephanie Miner," Bloomberg Philanthropies, accessed October 20, 2026, https://www.bloomberg.org/blog/profile-bold-leadership-stephanie-miner/.
"'Smart Sewer' Technology Leads to Nearly $450 Million in Savings for South Bend," Notre Dame News, University of Notre Dame, accessed October 20, 2026, https://news.nd.edu/news/smart-sewer-technology-leads-to-nearly-450-million-in-savings-for-south-bend/.
"Smart Sewers Relieve Stress on Systems and Wastewater Officials, Saving Energy and Funds," Great Lakes Now, February 3, 2023, https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/03/smart-sewers-systems-wastewater-officials-energy-funds/.
"South Bend, Indiana Uses Smart Technology to Monitor and Regulate Wastewater Levels," Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, accessed October 20, 2026, https://eri.iu.edu/erit/case-studies/south-bend-indiana-uses-smart-technology-to-monitor-and-regulate-wastewater-levels.html.
US Environmental Protection Agency, "Combined Sewer Overflow Smart Sewers," accessed October 20, 2026, https://www.epa.gov/npdes/combined-sewer-overflow-smart-sewers-layout.
"Floodwaters Overwhelm South Bend, Ind.'s Smart Sewer," Government Technology, accessed October 20, 2026, https://www.govtech.com/products/floodwaters-overwhelm-south-bend-inds-smart-sewer.html.
MissionSquare Research Institute, "State and Local Government Employers Faced Fewer Hiring Challenges in the Past Year, a New MissionSquare Research Institute Report Finds," press release, July 8, 2025, https://www.missionsquare.com/about-us/news/msri-state-local-government-fewer-hiring-challenges.
"The Public Sector Workforce in 2025: Lots of Moving Parts," PM Magazine, International City/County Management Association, accessed October 20, 2026, https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/public-sector-workforce-2025-lots-moving-parts.
Office of Governor Tim Walz, "Governor Walz Activates Minnesota National Guard Following Saint Paul Cyberattack," press release, July 29, 2025, https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/press-releases/?id=1055-699945.
"Minnesota Governor Activates National Guard amid St. Paul Cyberattack," StateScoop, July 29, 2025, https://statescoop.com/st-paul-mn-cyberattack-walz-national-guard/.
"St. Paul Cyberattack: Gov. Walz Authorizes $1.2 Million in State Disaster Assistance," FOX 9, accessed October 20, 2026, https://www.fox9.com/news/st-paul-cyberattack-gov-walz-state-assistance-feb-11.
"St. Paul Officials Still Dealing with Summer Cyberattack's Fallout," Route Fifty, November 2025, https://www.route-fifty.com/cybersecurity/2025/11/st-paul-officials-still-dealing-summer-cyberattacks-fallout/409810/.
US Environmental Protection Agency, "Enforcement Alert: Drinking Water Systems to Address Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities," May 2024, https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/enforcement-alert-drinking-water-systems-address-cybersecurity-vulnerabilities.
National Institute of Building Sciences, "Building Resilient Communities by Incentivizing Investments," accessed October 20, 2026, https://nibs.org/building-resilient-communities-incentivizing-investments/.
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"Auditors Highlight Poor Oversight and Reporting at City Council over Troubled IT Programme." Local Government Lawyer. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/projects-and-regeneration/403-projects-news/60078-auditors-highlight-poor-oversight-and-reporting-at-city-council-over-troubled-it-programme.
"Birmingham City Council's Oracle ERP Fiasco Now £144M and Still Not Working." The Register, January 29, 2026. https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/01/29/birmingham-oracle-erp-fiasco-now-144m-and-still-not-working/4238750.
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Bloomberg Philanthropies. "A Profile in Bold Leadership: Stephanie Miner." Accessed October 20, 2026. https://www.bloomberg.org/blog/profile-bold-leadership-stephanie-miner/.
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International City/County Management Association. "The Public Sector Workforce in 2025: Lots of Moving Parts." PM Magazine. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/public-sector-workforce-2025-lots-moving-parts.
"Minnesota Governor Activates National Guard amid St. Paul Cyberattack." StateScoop, July 29, 2025. https://statescoop.com/st-paul-mn-cyberattack-walz-national-guard/.
MissionSquare Research Institute. "State and Local Government Employers Faced Fewer Hiring Challenges in the Past Year, a New MissionSquare Research Institute Report Finds." Press release, July 8, 2025. https://www.missionsquare.com/about-us/news/msri-state-local-government-fewer-hiring-challenges.
National Institute of Building Sciences. "Building Resilient Communities by Incentivizing Investments." Accessed October 20, 2026. https://nibs.org/building-resilient-communities-incentivizing-investments/.
Office of Governor Tim Walz. "Governor Walz Activates Minnesota National Guard Following Saint Paul Cyberattack." Press release, July 29, 2025. https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/press-releases/?id=1055-699945.
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"Smart Sewers Relieve Stress on Systems and Wastewater Officials, Saving Energy and Funds." Great Lakes Now, February 3, 2023. https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/03/smart-sewers-systems-wastewater-officials-energy-funds/.
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US Environmental Protection Agency. "Combined Sewer Overflow Smart Sewers." Accessed October 20, 2026. https://www.epa.gov/npdes/combined-sewer-overflow-smart-sewers-layout.
US Environmental Protection Agency. "Enforcement Alert: Drinking Water Systems to Address Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities." May 2024. https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/enforcement-alert-drinking-water-systems-address-cybersecurity-vulnerabilities.
