Category Archives: Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes, Employee Spotlights

A Day in the Life: Large Meter Repair Crew Chief

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Large Meter Work Scene.

Summer intern Jake Dube is on a quest. Join him as he shadows Charlotte Water staff to learn about all the different things that Charlotte Water staff do in the community. 

Charlotte Water has 912 employees. I am going to work alongside as many as I can to learn as much as I can about the utility. Last week, I had the pleasure of shadowing Bobby Sloan, Large Meter Repair Crew Chief, on my first ride-along of the summer.

His day begins early. Bobby doesn’t mind, he is an early bird and wakes up around 3:45 a.m. He doesn’t need much, a walk in the crisp morning air and a cup o’ joe. He knocks out office work before we meet. I arrive and grab our gear and head to the truck.

In addition to working out in the field, Crew Chiefs coordinate and dispatch staff to various jobs each day. When I get into the truck, Bobby looks over his ToughBook and examines the list of jobs for the day. He chooses his service request to respond to and starts the truck.

Bobby is a detective. He investigates strange water bills. The first service job we are heading to is for a low water bill. We arrive at the apartment complex and find the water meter box.

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Bobby Sloan taking a reading from the large water meter.

Bobby uses his tool to open the meter box and begins to run a test. He makes sure that the device registers the same number found on the meter.

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Inside look

The meter is registering the same numbers the scanner is. Bobby looks up briefly to ponder the problem in front of him. In what feels like no time at all I see the light bulb turn on. Bobby knew exactly what to do next.

He comes back from the truck holding a water key. He takes the key, sticks it down around a bolt and turns…

Water Gif

With water running, it confirms that the meter was working properly. Bobby deals exclusively with the meter. Anything past the meter box is not his expertise.  The large meter was working, and water was registering. The apartment complex may not use much water, or there is an issue elsewhere in the system. This means that this ticket will stay open and someone else will come back to further investigate the problem.

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The Water Key

This is how most days go. Find the job, look at the meter, and solve the problem.

Everything is running smoothly before the last meter of the day…

Bobby is responding to a request to locate a meter. Charlotte Water staff went out to check the meter but could not find it. That was now our job.

Bobby pulls out his phone and opens up a city app that shows all the water and sewer mains, manholes, and meters in Charlotte. We see that there is a meter box down the street. We orientate ourselves and get walking.

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Beginning the search for the meter box

Bobby is carrying a prod, this tool is used to poke the ground. Sometimes the meter box is covered in overgrowth. Bobby suspects this is the reason the crew couldn’t find the meter. We walk down the street to the spot on the app. With no meter box immediately in sight, we begin looking around the surrounding area. 

Bobby works his way around some large trees and starts poking around. We come up with nothing. Bobby looks at me with a small smirk on his face. Just like he has done all day, he gets an idea. We go back to the truck to use a trick of the trade.

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Searching for the meter box

He opens Google Maps on his phone. He taps the button for street view and drags the slider to 2011. We are looking at the same street, but not as overgrown. He is looking for blue spray paint on the side of the road; a mark used by staff to identify water meters on the street. Though this is neat, we still can’t find the meter box.

Not being discouraged, Bobby grabs his ToughBook to do some investigating. He looks up the history of this meter box and found the last person to service it. The name reads Frank; he smiles and says “Watch this”. Frank is on Bobby’s team and must be one of the most organized people I have ever met.  He calls Frank, who opens his excel spreadsheet noting every meter he has serviced. Frank laughs as he had to find this meter. He directs us down the block, around the corner. We follow his directions and find the spot.

Problem solved right? We finally found it…ish. We look up from the blue marking on the street to find weeds 5 feet tall.

Bobby gets out of the truck and grabs his tools.

After a few minutes, he cuts his way to the meter box, sticks his shovel in the ground, and catches his breath.

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Meter box finally found

We approach the top of the meter box and open it up. We are finally done… except there is one more surprise left.

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Filled meter box.

The meter box is filled with water. Bobby explains that this is common in low lying areas.

As I stand there wondering how in the world we could solve this, Bobby goes to work. In his truck, he starts pulling tools out and he hooks something into his truck battery. It is a portable pump. Version 2

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Portable pump.

He takes the pump and places it down into the meter box. With a flip of a switch, the water comes pumping out.

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Pump in action.

After a minute, the meter box is clear of water. Bobby checks to see if the meter is working correctly. Before we leave, he sprays blue spray paint to help the next crew member find the box.

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As we are driving back to the office, I thank Bobby for letting me tag along. I started out my day as a novice and now I know so much about large meters.

At the end of the day, one thing was clear. Bobby wants the best for the customers of Charlotte Water. He makes sure that they have access to water 24.7 and that the meter is working properly. He is an incredible guy and a fountain of knowledge. I had a wonderful day riding around with him. Thanks again, Bobby!

For more stories on other Charlotte Water employees, stay up to date with us on our blog and other social media accounts!

Behind the Scenes, How Things Work

From the River to the Tap: Field Investigation

“Water is essential to life, and just being part of something as big as that brings me joy. Whether you’re thirsty, are taking a shower – water is essential and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Daren Thompson is a field investigator specialist, which means he works with residential customers to determine what’s causing unusually high bills. He’s on the ground, meeting with customers at their homes, checking Charlotte Water equipment, and tracking potential issues.

Daren Thompson 1

Daren can get a call in several ways; first, billing “detectives” like Customer Service Revenue Assistant Febee Martin, who we profiled yesterday, can send a service order asking for his help. Representatives with 311 can also request his skills when customers with high bills or water pressure issues call.

“I call customers first to let them know I’m coming to find out what may be causing their high bills,” Daren said. “When I get there, I check our equipment to make sure it’s working properly, that it’s reading the meter accurately, that Charlotte Water doesn’t have a problem with our pipes.”

But he doesn’t stop there. He sees his job as a way to educate customers.

“They’ll say, ‘I have a high water bill and I didn’t use more water than usual,’ so I show them how the equipment works. I’ll go to the register and ask the customer to turn on a faucet, then show them the dial spinning to monitor how much water they’re using. When they turn the water off, the dial stops. They can see for themselves how the equipment works and that we are here to help them.”

If the Charlotte Water equipment is all working correctly, the customer most likely has a leak. Many times, Daren and his coworkers are telling customers about leaks before customers had any idea. This proactive approach means homeowners can catch some leaks before they cause major problems, as well as saving water.

“I want our customers to know we have accurate equipment, that we aren’t trying to nickel and dime them or take advantage of them,” he said. “Of course, it is mechanical, so sometimes I do find a problem on our end, and it’s our chance to show our customers we care and are here to help them. I like seeing the smile on their face when I can solve the problem. It shows that Charlotte Water is here for their benefit.”

Daren came to Charlotte Water four years ago, after working for the water department in Columbia, S.C. He hopes to make this a lifetime career. “I feel like Charlotte Water has some of the best water in the world. Being part of that makes me happy.”

To read the  water process from the beginning click here

Behind the Scenes, How Things Work

From the River to the Tap: Billing

“Before any water bill goes out, there is a long process involving a lot of people, all to make sure each bill is accurate and sent on time.”

Customer Service Revenue Assistant Febee Martin is not only a 12-year Charlotte Water employee. She’s also a detective, reviewing water bills for the department’s nearly one-million customers as part of a critical process that ensures bills are accurate.

Here’s how it works: specially equipped Charlotte Water trucks drive specific routes and read meters via transmitter. The data is downloaded and the system checks it. If the data falls within a normal range for the customer, the bill goes out. If it’s outside the norm, Febee and her three coworkers start investigating to determine whether there’s an issue with the meter, a water leak, or just a month with high water use.

Febee Martin pic

“Before a customer even sees the bill, we check it,” she said. “We go into the account and analyze the information, which includes pictures of the meter, readings, the transmission report and previous bills. We look at all the details to figure out why the data falls outside the normal use.”

Sometimes the answer could be as simple as a customer starting up an irrigation system in the spring; the account history may show a similar jump in use the previous spring, so the bill will go out. Other times, Febee needs on-the-ground information, so she’ll send a service order.

“Our investigators call the customers and go to their homes,” she explained. “They check the meter to ensure it’s working properly. If it is, they’ll look for leaks. Many times, customers will find out about a leak at their home from us – before they even receive a higher bill.”

It’s one way Charlotte Water is proactive, using these “detectives” to check customers’ bills for unusual activity and help track down the issue.

“When I started, I didn’t know how detailed the water bill really is,” Febee said. “Customers only see the paper bill, and they don’t realize everything that goes into it before it ends up in their mailbox.”

Febee takes her job seriously – and so does her sister, who also works for Charlotte Water, in the finance department.

“This job provides a service. What I do helps the customers, and we try to provide the best service we can.”

To read the next step in the water process click here

Behind the Scenes, How Things Work

From the River to the Tap: Pipe Repair

It’s hard to believe the clean, fresh water that comes from your tap actually started its journey as a drop of water in the Catawba River.

 

Hundreds of Charlotte Water employees are part of that journey, and during National Drinking Water Week, we celebrate and recognize the vital role water plays in our community. Every day this week, we’ll meet one of those employees helping deliver water from the river to your tap.

 

Today, we go in the trenches to learn what it takes to keep the water flowing across the entire system.

“Charlotte Water employees really care about getting water to houses and businesses. We have a good group of people here. Every time a customer is out of water, our crews give 100 percent to get the water back on.”

Labor Crew Chief 2 Garry Williams leads a six-man crew, all focused on fixing water and sewer main breaks. When investigators find a potential problem, or a customer calls in with a concern, Garry and his crew head out, traveling with their detective skills, years of knowledge and an array of heavy and light construction equipment.

Garry Williams pic

“Most of the time, when it comes to emergencies, customers call in to 311 and we respond,” Garry said. “It’s either water shooting up in the air or bubbling in the street, or sewage backing up.”

Garry joined Charlotte Water 15 years ago, serving as a crew lead before moving up to chief. He’s also a detective, working hard to find the source of a problem and fix it quickly, while impacting as few customers as possible.

“Once we get on the scene, we investigate everything. First, we have to turn the water off to see what we are dealing with,” he said. “We look through our map books and programs that show the locations of all the water mains and water valves.”

Garry tries to isolate issues to as small an area possible. “When we can target the problem and turn off the water there, we’ll impact fewer customers. If we can’t find the source of the leak, we have to back up to the next valve, then the next, and every time we do that, we’re putting more and more customers out of water.”

The labor crews have specialized equipment to target leaks. One is a listener, similar to a big stethoscope that medical professionals use to listen to your heart and lungs. “We may see water bubbling up in one location, but that doesn’t mean that’s where the leak is. We can lay a listener on the ground and use the sounds we hear to find out exactly where the break is. That way, we can dig just in that area.”

After finding the leak and turning the water off, crews use electric or gas pumps to drain the water from the hole. That gives them a better view of the pipe to determine their next steps.

While he’s investigating, listening and digging, Garry is also working with customers. “Most of the time, customers already know there’s an issue and they’re looking for our trucks. Once we pull up, it’s ‘Are y’all turning the water off?’ ‘Yes,’ and most of the time they’re pretty cool with it.”

Finding the problem is just the beginning. “Once we do the investigating, we then have to determine how many people will be affected, how long the water will be off. If it will be off for a long time, we can get water delivered to the area. If there’s a day care or school impacted, we talk to those customers and help them figure out what to do. We really want to work with them.”

Not all pipe breaks are small jobs. Last week, Charlotte Water dealt with an issue with a fitting on a 54-inch water main that closed lanes on East Morehead Street in Dilworth. “This one was different,” Garry explained. “Most of the time, the water finds a place to go – it flows onto the street or out of drains – but once we got to this one, you couldn’t see any water leaking. The asphalt had lifted up into a huge, water-filled bubble. Once we removed the asphalt, everything was washed out underneath.”

Breaks like that can make for long days. That break took three crews more than 36 hours to repair, due to the size of the pipe, the work removing the broken area and replacing it, and digging up and fixing East Morehead Street.

Garry knows the City and works hard every day. “It’s personal to me. I was born and raised in Charlotte; it’s my city. I try to do what I can to make it a better city.”

Despite the long days and hard work, he loves his job. “I respect every employee in Charlotte Water. It’s the best job I’ve ever had. I really love what I do.”

He knows he’s making a difference. “The best part of my job is helping each customer. We pull into a neighborhood and they may be out of water. We really do feel like heroes on some days. As soon as the truck pulls up, customers are waiting for us. I love to see the smiles on their faces and it’s always, ‘Thank you. We appreciate you.’ I just really love that part of the job.”

To read the next step in the water process click here