Updates, What's Going On?

Questions related to COVID-19

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for frequent hand-washing, effective immediately, and until further notice, Charlotte Water will not disconnect water service accounts for non-payment.  Those currently disconnected will be re-connected.  Charlotte Water is committed to protecting our residents and providing them consistent access to high-quality water no matter their account status.

  • Does that mean I don’t have to pay my water bill anymore? No, customers are still responsible to pay for all water services received during this time and should continue to make payments to avoid a higher bill at a later date.
  • What is the reasoning behind this? It is to ensure that everyone has access to water for sanitary purposes as well as to not add any additional stress to our community members during this time.
  • How many people will this affect? 117 customer accounts will be turned back on within 24 hours.
  • When will this moratorium on delinquent shut-offs end? We will stay in contact with health officials to determine the appropriate time to lift the moratorium.
  • Has Charlotte Water ever done this before? We have done this in times where our community was in stress, such as severe weather (hurricanes) that caused mass power outages and other hardships for our community. For example, if many customers are without power due to severe weather, we will not add additional stress by turning a customer’s water off for non-payment.
  • How do I pay my water bill? Visit https://charlottenc.gov/Water/RatesBilling/Pages/WaterBill.aspx for information on all the ways you can pay your bill.
  • Where may I get help paying my bill? We encourage all customers who are having trouble paying their bill to call 311 (704-336-7600) to set up a payment plan or be referred to Crisis Assistance Ministries.

Fortunately, our strong partnership with Crisis Assistance Ministries has allowed us to refer customers that are due to be disconnected for delinquency. In most cases, all these customers have had their service restored within 24 hours.

Over the past 12 years, Charlotte Water has implemented various programs to reduce the number of delinquent turn-offs. The annual average of accounts that have been turned off for nonpayment has been around 1,600/month which is a reduction from our all-time high average of over 3,300 per month in 2017/2018.