Living Here

Moving to the Treasure Valley — or just untangling who handles what on your bill — usually starts with the same handful of providers. Idaho Power is the electric utility for all of Ada County and most of Canyon County; service is set up online and a deposit may apply for new accounts. Intermountain Gas handles natural gas for most of the Valley. Water and sewer vary by city: Veolia (formerly Suez/United Water) supplies most of Boise; Eagle, Meridian, Star, Nampa, Caldwell, Kuna, and the other cities each run their own water and sewer department through the city, or contract with a small private utility. Always start at your city's utility-billing page.

For trash and recycling, jurisdictions contract with private haulers — Republic Services serves most of Ada County, while Hardin Sanitation and others operate in parts of Canyon. Curbside pickup and recycling rules vary by city; check your city's solid-waste page for accepted materials and the holiday schedule.

Broadband options are usually Sparklight (cable), Lumen/CenturyLink (DSL and fiber), and an expanding footprint of fiber from Ziply, Sparklight Fiber, and city-partner fiber projects in pockets of the Valley. Cellular coverage from T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T is strong in the metro; rural east Ada and the Owyhee front can have gaps. For housing, the Idaho Housing and Finance Association runs first-time homebuyer programs, and CATCH and Jesse Tree provide rental and homelessness-prevention assistance. The Idaho Humane Society and the West Valley Humane Society handle adoptions and licensing for pets.