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General

May Community Events With Charlotte Water

Stowe Regional Project STEM/STEAM School Outreach

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.

General

Charlotte Water Capital Improvement Project: Clarke Creek Pump Station and Force Main Project

Charlotte Water and its contractors have begun construction on the Clarke Creek Pump Station and Force Main Project. Wastewater generated from portions of Northeastern Mecklenburg County currently flows to the Water & Sewer Authority of Cabarrus County (WSACC). Due to an increase in development and demand in the area, it is necessary to build a new facility to divert a portion of the Clarke Creek Basin flow to the McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant instead.

Pumping a portion out of the Clarke Creek Basin will allow for new development to continue and will ensure ongoing, reliable service for CLTWater customers.

PROJECT UPDATES

A Public Meeting was held on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library: North County Regional to discuss the project and answer questions. A copy of the presentation that was reviewed during this meeting can be reviewed below.

For questions, please contact the CLTWater Project Manager, Samuel Wally at Samuel.wally@charlottenc.gov or 704.315.8129.

UPCOMING WORK

This Summer, CLTWater will begin clearing easements (commonly known as the right-of-way) near the North Mecklenburg Recycling Center.

Clearing activities involve removing natural growth and debris so that the area is accessible to the project team.

All activities will occur at least 200ft. away from residential properties in the Plum Creek Neighborhood. The work in this area is anticipated to be completed by the end of Fall 2023.

PROJECT DOCUMENTS

  • Clarke Creek Pump Station and Force Main Project Pre-Construction Mailer
General

The Dream Team: Charlotte Water & Mecklenburg County Working Together to Help Residents

Deondra “Dee” Hagans has always had the desire to help people. “I like being able to better the lives of the people I come in contact with,” she says.  That’s why she has always worked in public service in some capacity. It’s also one of the things that excites her the most about her new role as a Customer Service Representative, working with both Charlotte Water and Mecklenburg County’s Department of Social Services (DSS): “This partnership between the City and County allows me to help residents get connected to resources that they need most.”

Deondra “Dee” Hagans in her new role at Charlotte Water as a
Financial Aid Program Coordinator.

As a liaison between both departments, Deondra will be able to work as a City and County representative to help residents get connected to financial aid assistance and resources they qualify for. Dee has an extensive background in financial assistance, including five years working with DSS in their Economic Services division. However, this new position and role is especially important because of how it was created and the purpose it serves.  

During the COVID pandemic, Charlotte Water saw the financial strain the pandemic had on customers. To decrease some burden, late fees were lifted, disconnections were suspended, and payment plans were extended so families had access to water services during financial hardship. As the pandemic continued, financial assistance through grants, community programs and state and federal funds, were allocated to families to help cover rent, utilities, food, and other necessities. One such state program was the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) that focused specifically on helping residents with their outstanding water bills. The state sent the funds to the County, who would then distribute it to households in need.

To accomplish this, Charlotte Water and DSS had to work closely together. Representatives met weekly to create a process that was the best way to determine and distribute the funds. Details from how residents applied for aid, to how to help people who were not eligible were discussed.

In the end, DSS and Charlotte Water decided to auto-match the funds to accounts that qualified. Charlotte Water would send a list to DSS of accounts that were overdue or at risk of being disconnected when regular billing procedures resumed. DSS would check if those accounts had already become eligible for other aid and match them with funds through the LIHWAP program. Those who were eligible would receive a one-time credit that cleared their balance.

Because of the collaboration, thousands of residents were able to get a financial fresh start when account balances were forgiven. As more funds were released, DSS and Charlotte Water saw an opportunity to create a full-time position between the two departments that would be bigger than just the LIHWAP program. Charlotte Water is always looking for ways to connect customers to the financial aid available and DSS understands that if you need water bill assistance during a financial hardship, there’s a possibility you might need other financial assistance as well.

The new role, and Dee, are opening up opportunities for future partnerships between the City and the County that will benefit our community. “Being able to work with both agencies means I have the ability to help the customers in several ways, versus just one area of need they might have,” says Dee. “It’s a win-win-win for everyone.”

On April 25, representatives from Charlotte Water and Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services celebrated the ongoing partnership between the two agencies.