Category Archives: Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes, Employee Spotlights

Creating Utility Careers: Charlotte Water’s Employment Programs

“Trust the process.” That is what Training Specialist Sherri Jones says to participants of Charlotte Water’s employment programs. Beginning a new career is never easy, but with the right mindset and tools for success, anything is possible.

Earlier this year, Charlotte Water began developing programs that would provide participants with on-the-job experience, and a clear path for training and success. Those programs are the Pipeline Academy and the Apprenticeship Program. Both programs offer a foundation for a successful career with Charlotte Water. But the main difference is that one program is able to guarantee employment upon successful completion, while the other cannot make that same guarantee.

The Pipeline Academy is our internship program. This program operates like other internship programs, in the sense that companies do not always guarantee that they will be able to offer you a job at the end of your placement. But, if you thrive, and there is an opportunity available, then every effort would be made to hire that participant. The academy’s first cohort of 10 interns started in February of 2019; 9 of the 10 interns completed in August, and all 9 were hired as full-time employees for Charlotte Water.

The Apprenticeship Program is similar to the Pipeline Academy, but this year-long program guarantees a job to participants upon successful completion. The only requirements to apply are that you are 18 years old, have a valid drivers licence, have a high school degree or GED, and you have the ability and passion to work hard and learn. Through the program, participants will have the ability to attend trainings, obtain certifications, obtain all city benefits, and have opportunities to grow and develop within Charlotte Water. As the program continues to grow and develop, Charlotte Water’s training specialists are partnering with others in the community to be able to provide wraparound services to its program participants.

Charlotte Water’s employment programs have been so successful that the City of Charlotte began a program called Career Pathways. Their first group included 49 interns across seven city departments.

Be on the lookout for upcoming spotlight stories on our past and present program participants!

Behind the Scenes, Employee Spotlights

Award-Winning Utility: The Women of Wastewater

They were the only all women’s team competing among 47 teams. They worked hard to prepare for the competition is just six short weeks. They won this year’s Spirit Award. They are Charlotte Water’s Women of Wastewater.

Katie Graham, Beth Cunningham, Muriel Steele, Trinh Nguyen, lead by their captain, Johanna McHone, formed a team known fondly as the “Women of Wastwater” or “WOW” for short. This fall, the WOW team competed at this year’s WEFTEC National Operations Challenge, and were the only all women’s team in attendance. The competition consisted of five events:

  • Collections System Event
  • Maintenance Event
  • Laboratory Event
  • Safety Event
  • Process Control Event

Each simulation event was timed, and one event included a thorough written test.

Photo credit: Jeff Frederick
Photo credit: Jeff Frederick
Photo Credit: Jeff Frederick

What is WEFTEC?

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is the non-profit organization behind WEFTEC, which stands for the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference. The conference is the largest water conference in North America, and the exhibition is the largest annual water quality exhibition in the world. The conference consists of a wide range of topics and focus areas, promotes networking among peers, allows participants to earn professional development credit, and addresses a wide-range of water and wastewater issues and solutions. This year, WEFTEC hosted their 32nd Operations Challenge, in which the Women of Wastewater competed in for the first time.

Prepping for the competition

About six weeks before the event, the team began preparing for the competition. Their weekly prep consisted of two, four-hour practices beginning in the early hours of the morning. So some team members were beginning their workday, while others were ending the day with their practice.

What’s next for WOW?

This past week, the team competed again at NC AWWA WEA’s annual conference, and took home three 1st place trophies, out of their five events, and won 2nd place overall. After all of this year’s success, these ladies are taking a break from competing until next year. Can’t wait to see what they’ll accomplish in 2020!

Behind the Scenes, How Things Work

5 Things You Can Talk About Over Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving means quality time with family and friends, and for some that can cause a great deal of anxiety. Politics, religion, your cousin’s newest face tattoo, these are all topics that are off limits. So what do you talk about? Don’t worry, Charlotte Water is here with 5 Charlotte themed conversation starters that won’t rock the boat.

  1. Did you know that the City of Charlotte is turning 250 years old?
  2. Did you know that 44% of sanitary sewer overflows are caused by grease from homes and restaurants?
  3. Ninety years ago, the location of our Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant was chosen because it was outside of the city limits. Since then the city has grown so much and the plant is now located in the heart of South Park.
  4. Tricycles, buckets, scrap wood, rings, goldfish, aprons and flushable wipes all have what in common? They have all been found in our sewer pipes in Mecklenburg County. Please note that NONE of these things belong there.
  5. Before municipal wastewater treatment plants, communities like Charlotte used to allow homes and business to pipe waste directly into lakes and rivers.

We hope this helps and you have a wonderful stress free holiday!