Charlotte water reinvests part of your water and sewer fees to replace and reline existing pipes in the oldest neighborhoods in Charlotte. This ensures that drinking water continues to be high quality even as our infrastructure ages.

Water pipe rehabilitation involves spraying a new lining inside the existing pipe. This process involves an innovative technique of cleaning the inside of the existing water main, then applying a protective coating to extend the useful life of the pipe.

This is accomplished using limited digging at strategic locations, which means less disruption and pavement repair and less inconvenience to you. Where pipes are no longer structurally sound, the pipe is replaced.

We rehab only a certain portion of the service line. A service line is the line that runs from the drinking water main running along the street to your house. We rehab the section from the main to the meter. The rest of the service line, from the meter to your house is the homeowners responsibility.

While water pipes are out of service, we typically maintain a continuous supply of water to you through an above ground temporary water system. To ensure the water is safe to drink, the temporary system is disinfected and tested prior to putting it into service.

Police, Fire, and Medic are informed of lane closures and make adjustments in the event of an emergency.

During any type of construction involving the water supply pipes, it is possible that sediment in water main lines and home plumbing may be disturbed which causes discolored (cloudy or brownish) water to be produced. This can be temporary and most sediment is flushed out by the contractor or project inspector through hydrant flushing. This is done to test and flow water to ensure it is the freshest if can be. We’ve got more information on flushing in this article

If discolored water is seen coming out of your tap, run your tap for 15 minutes. If the water is still discolored (cloudy or brownish) please call 311 and let us know.

To sum up, we may be in your ‘hood and you may experience

• a notice from our staff explaining the work being done
• traffic interruptions due to the construction site
• flushing hydrants
• our smiling faces down in the trenches relining pipes
• some water discoloration initially due to replacing lines (just flush for 15 minutes)

The result is your drinking water running through newly lined pipes, we think that is something to smile….or dance about.