Charlotte Water is thrilled to continue the tradition of celebrating National Drinking Water Week within our communities. Drinking Water Week recognizes the vital role water plays in everyday life for both water professionals and the communities they serve.
This year, Charlotte Water is excited to host a day of family fun at the Quest Nature Center on May 6th, 2023, from 11 am to 3 pm. There will be games, guest exhibitors, and many family-friendly activities!
Charlotte Water invites the public to learn about the importance of clean, safe water in daily life and its role in our public health, environment, and thriving community.
Come meet some of Charlotte’s water heroes and sustainability groups that support our region!
Charlotte Water is proud to serve our community 24/7, 365 days a year, bringing clean, safe drinking water to over 1.1 million residents across Mecklenburg County.
As part of the ongoing partnership with local communities, the Stowe Regional Project team continues to engage with the local Whitewater schools. During the month of May, CLTWater staff and Stowe team members participated in several activities at the school.
On May 3, CLTWater made a big splash at the Whitewater Middle School Career Fair. This STEM magnet school has been a great neighbor to our new Stowe Regional Water Resource Recovery Facility. CLTWater representatives from Engineering, Field Operations, Customer Service, Laboratory, Learning and Development, and Stowe contractors met with students to talk about career opportunities and what it’s like to work in the water industry.
The Career Day also provided the Stowe Team with an opportunity to meet schoolteachers and staff to begin planning for ESTEM education (environmental, science, technology, engineering and math) opportunities in the 2023-24 school year.
Water Week Celebration 2023
On May 6, over 60 Charlotte Water staff, 7 external exhibitors, and over 400 members of the public celebrated Drinking Water Week at the Quest Center in Huntersville. It was a day of education and celebration to recognize all of the hard work that goes into bringing safe, clean, and reliable water services to our community.
The free, open-to-the-public, family fun day included indoor and outdoor activities and our Water Wagon’s re-launch! Director Angela Charles greeted the public and conveyed the importance of Drinking Water Week in our community. To formally kick of Water Week, Charles read the proclamation that signifies Charlotte’s dedication to clean water for everyone. Attendees of the celebration enjoyed yard games, face painting, snack vendors, information booths and more. External partners included Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, Stormwater Services, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Sustain Charlotte, Carolina Raptor Center, Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, and 811.
Thank you to all those at Charlotte Water who made this event a huge success. It takes a tremendous amount of teamwork to safely gather hundreds of people for a festival and engage meaningfully. Many members of the public (including Miss Huntersville!) conveyed how impressed they were with our engaging and kind staff.
On-going Charlotte Water and DSS Collaboration
On May 7, CLTWater and Department of Social Services’ (DSS) representatives attended a Community Baby Shower sponsored by District 2 PHA OES and non-profit organization Dream Xperience. The recipients of the baby shower goods were young & pregnant mothers in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Charlotte.
During the event, Dee, Charlotte Water’s Financial Aid Program Coordinator and DSS liaison was there to assist members of the public with their water bills. Dee looked up water accounts, explained bills, enrolled customers in payment plans if needed and let customers know what agencies in the community help with water bills. DSS provided applications and information for guests to apply for and receive information about DSS resources.
All excess baby supplies were donated to Angel House Maternity Home.
Charlotte Water and DSS will continue to look for opportunities such as this one to help connect residents who may need help to resources and assistance.
Stowe visits Whitewater Middle School for concert
On May 9, Whitewater Middle School held their year-end orchestra band concert. The Stowe Team attended to provide backpacks, water bottles, and activity books to students as well as project information to parents. This type of outreach has been performed during a variety of extra-curricular activities throughout the school year to engage different groups of parents and students.
Stowe at RiverFest in Belmont, hosted by Catawba Riverkeeper
On May 13, the Stowe Project team went to Belmont and had an awesome time attending RiverFest. The Stowe project team talked to about 200 attendees about the new Stowe facility, the partnership with Gaston County, and how it would benefits the northwest communities and residents. Display boards illustrated how wastewater pipelines had been installed connecting Mount Holly to the new Stowe Facility, as well as the location of the new Belmont Pump Station and the Paw Creek Pump Station it will connect to, in order to inform residents about routing and construction process. We are thankful for our partners at the Catawba Riverkeepers, for inviting us.
To ensure harmful bacteria does not grow during the sometimes very long trip from the treatment plant to your home, we add a very small amount of chlorine to keep the water disinfected and safe to drink.
Your water averages about 1.3 parts per million (ppm) of chlorine when it leaves the treatment plant and about 1.16 ppm in the distribution system. The EPA maximum contaminant level is four ppm.
Our field staff use chlorine as an indicator of good water quality. When they are out in the field taking samples and the chlorine levels are good, they can be sure that there is no bacteria in the line or in your drinking water.
Below are the results from testing in 2022 and are shown in our annually produced Consumer Confidence Report.
Taste can differ and those that live closer to a drinking water treatment plant may taste more chlorine in their water than those that live farther away. Remember, 1.3 ppm of chlorine disinfects the water but is not harmful. If you don’t like the taste we suggest filling a pitcher up with tap water up and letting it sit overnight. If you use a filter please make sure to replace it regularly!
Need to fill a pool in Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, or Pineville? You have options…
Option 1:
Call swimming pool installation or pool supply companies to get referrals of companies who fill swimming pools. Search online for ‘swimming pool water charlotte,’ or check yellow pages under ‘swimming pools’ or ‘street cleaners.’ Consider getting more than one price estimate. If a contractor has to haul the water, it could cost a lot so make sure they explain all costs.
Option 2:
Fill from outside spigot using an existing water service.
Check past bills to calculate typical water use and how much it would cost to fill or refill the pool.
If it is an empty pool, consider filling it up halfway on one 30 day bill cycle and then fill the last half during the next billing cycle. Sewer charges apply up to 16 Ccf.
*1 Ccf = 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons of water
Option 3:
Rent a hydrant for two days if;
• hydrant is in good working order.
• hydrant is on your side of the street and wouldn’t restrict access to neighbor’s driveway.
• you need at least of 15,000 gallons or 20 Ccfs.
Service requires a charge for a technician to connect water quality protection equipment and activate hydrant for rental and turn off after two days. Additionally, water consumption will be billed at the current commercial (non-residential) water rate.
Customer is required to rent or purchase an approved hose, from an independent supplier, to connect to the hydrant.
Apply for a separate water meter installed just for filling a swimming pool. View application and fees. Swimming pool meter charges start at tier 3 rate depending on amount of water used during monthly billing cycle.
How do i drain a pool?
Drain to Yard or Landscaped Area
A good option is to drain water to your yard or landscaped area if and only if you:
Do not cause flooding or other nuisance conditions on adjacent properties (notify your neighbors first).
Drain at a rate slow enough to not cause erosion.
Drain at a rate slow enough and to an area that allows the water to percolate into the ground and not discharge into the storm drain system, ditch or creek. This may be difficult to do because most properties are designed to drain off site. If discharge into a storm drain or water conveyance may occur, then you must follow the practices listed under “Drain to Storm Drain System”.
Drain to Storm Drain System
You may drain water from your pool or spa into a storm drain, ditch or creek if and only if you:
Dechlorinate the water below 0.1 milligrams per liter by allowing it to sit for one week without adding chlorine or by using a chemical dechlorination additive. Test the chlorine level with a pool testing kit before discharging.
Do not add other chemicals for at least one week before draining.
Ensure the pH of the water is between 6 and 9.
Remove or strain out algae and debris.
Discharge at a rate slow enough to not cause erosion.
Saltwater pools and spas may never be discharged to the storm drain system because of high chloride levels. You must choose another draining method if you have a saltwater pool or spa.
Drain to Sanitary Sewer System
You may drain water to the sanitary sewer system as a last resort if and only if you:
Contact Charlotte Water – System Protection to obtain authorization at 704-336-4407.
Follow all requirements provided by the person you talk to at Charlotte Water.
Do not discharge filter backwash to the storm drain system, but rather to a landscaped area or sanitary sewer. Some pool filters have a direct connection to the sewer system.
Dispose of filter material and collected debris in the trash.
On May 18th, Charlotte experienced one of the largest fires in the city’s history. Charlotte Water (CLTWater) responded with
Managers on location to assist with any water supply needs,
Operators pumped more water to the area,
Crews were on hand to assist if there were any water supply challenges.
Crews surveyed the area looking for and responding to water main breaks.
Water main breaks are likely after a massive flow of water is used for fighting fires.
Thank you to all that assisted in the response to ensure there was enough water supply and pressure for the Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) response.
“The partnership with the Charlotte Fire Department started more than 100 years ago and it is a weekly and sometimes daily coordination that enables us to assist in this crucial public safety role,”,” said Angela Charles, Director of Charlotte Water. “The investment in our water infrastructure has been instrumental in maintaining water supply and water pressure to serve our growing community and public safety needs.”
Charlotte Water Director Angela Charles coordinating with the Charlotte Fire Department during the fire.
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