Category Archives: My Water

General, How Things Work, My Water, Wastewater, Water Quality

Plumbing Tips When Buying A House

Buying a house is exciting and a little scary. Before you pick the final one, check out below tips to reduce future costs and concerns…

Questions to ask the owner / realtor

  • Is the water service provided by Charlotte Water, a third party, or is the property on a private well?
    • Is wastewater service also provided by Charlotte Water?
  • If the house was built more than 50 years ago, has the plumbing been replaced? If it hasn’t, that could cost thousands of dollars to replace.
  • Are there any utility easements under the property?
  • Is there a pressure-reducing valve on the water service line?
  • Where is the water meter?
    • If the water meter is between the street and a sidewalk, and the private plumbing service line needs to be replaced, any damage to a sidewalk will be up to the property owner to pay.

Easements

CLTWater easements are not typically reported as part of a title search for title insurance when purchasing a property. Surveying the property is the best way to determine if there are any easements on it.​ Learn more at https://cltwaterblog.org/2023/03/easement-101/.

Low Water Pressure

If the property is at the top of a hill or on the highest part of the neighborhood, it is likely you will experience lower water pressure than others in the neighborhood. Learn more about other possible factors at charlottewater.org.

High Water Pressure

If the property is located beside a creek, at the bottom of a hill, or in the lowest part of the neighborhood, it may have higher water pressure than other properties in the neighborhood. Learn more about other possible factors at charlottewater.org.

Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV)

If the house is located in a geographically low area (near a creek) or near a water pumping facility, the water pressure may exceed 80 psi. Learn more at charlottewater.org.

Irrigation and Backflow Prevention Device Testing

If the house has an irrigation system, it probably also has a backflow prevention device that requires testing. 

Wastewater Cleanout

Most homes also have a white plastic lid, commonly referred to as a cleanout. This provides access to the wastewater pipe between your house and the public wastewater system, allowing you to inspect and clear blockages. Many houses do not have a cleanout and may be worth considering, especially if you have trees in the front yard.

Backwater Valve

A plumbing fixture called a backwater valve can prevent sewage backups. The North Carolina State Plumbing Code has required backwater valves in some homes since the early 1930s. If your plumbing fixtures are located below the top of the first upstream manhole, state regulations require the installation of a backwater valve. To determine if your property has a backwater valve or needs one, please consult a professional plumber or contractor. Learn more about other possible wastewater issues at charlottewater.org.


Waterfront Properties and Homes Lower Than The Public Street

If your future home is on waterfront property or the public road is higher than your house, the house may have a low-pressure sanitary sewer system to pump your wastewater up to the gravity-fed sewer system. Make sure you understand how old the pump is and if there have been any issues with the system. If you choose to purchase the home, consider having a plumber inspect it occasionally.

Read Inspector Notes

Consider getting a home inspector to investigate the house. When reviewing the inspector’s notes, pay close attention to any remarks related to the plumbing system. The inspector may provide details about the pipe type and age, potential water or wastewater issues, and the presence of easements affecting the property. Do any of the noted issues need immediate repair?

When reading the home inspection report, you may see information about water flow in gallons per minute (gpm) or water pressure in pounds per square inch (psi). The minimum expected levels at the water meter are

  • Flow is equal to or greater than 8 gpm
  • Pressure is equal to or greater than 20 psi
  • If the house numbers are lower than these, please consult with the inspector on readings. Backflow prevention devices, pressure-reducing valves, whole-house filtration systems, and other attachments to the plumbing system may restrict flow or pressure inside a home.

Set Up Your Account Days Before Moving In

Don’t forget…before moving in, call us to set up your account several days in advance. Learn more at https://www.charlottenc.gov/water/Customer-Care/Start-Stop-Service

Other Resources

My Charlotte Lookup to learn about property, district, and trash/recycling details.

Photobook of Water and Wastewater Construction to learn more about what water and wastewater structures may be in a yard and how to determine the type of plumbing you have.

Cautionary Tale: Replace Old Water Service Line Before It Becomes an Emergency.

My Water, Repairs and Spills, Wastewater

Plumbing Nightmares! ! Mistakes Were Made & How to Prevent Them

Owning a home is scary these days. And your plumbing is haunting you from under your floors. So, grab a cozy blanket and join us as we explore the spooky side of home maintenance.

The wrong turn and water rushes everywhere.

It was Thanksgiving night, and the dishwasher wouldn’t start. I went under the sink, and there were three water valves: one for the faucet, one for the dishwasher, and one for the refrigerator ice maker. I traced the water lines to where they appeared to go and made an educated guess to turn off the water valve close to the dishwasher so I could try to repair it. I was wrong. I accidentally turned off the ice maker. I realized it as soon as water gushed all over the floor. Make sure to put a tag or identifier on your plumbing valves, and if doing work on an appliance, make sure to turn off the right valve or the master shut-off valve.

Cockroaches will wake you in the middle of the night if you rarely flush a toilet or floor drain.

The house had a small bathroom that wasn’t useful, so it wasn’t used, for several months… The water in the toilet evaporated and cockroaches found a new home. The cockroaches made a huge mess, and the toilet’s wax seal dried out, requiring a replacement. Set a reminder to pour a little water down drains or flush occasionally.

The Sourdough Monster that Broke the Dishwasher

So many people are enjoying the benefits of making their own sourdough recipes. Until the sourdough starter goes down the drain and forms a giant clog. Sourdough starter can harden in your pipes or your dishwasher, leading to costly repairs and replacements. Always scoop your discard into the trash to be safe.

Not cleaning your dishwasher filter will lead to a Ghoulish Gunk

Why is there a puddle and thick pink goo in the bottom of the dishwasher? It is easy to forget that your dishwasher has a filter and that it may need cleaning occasionally. Ignoring the filter will eventually lead to a nasty, smelly clog. Check with your owner’s manual on when and how to clean it.

The Noise is coming from inside the house!

Our son was home alone and called in a panic. There is someone upstairs! I heard them walking around and stopping for a bit, and then walking around again. My son’s brilliant decision was to grab a knife and attack the intruder. I persuaded him to stay where he was until I could get back. We could hear the walking sounds, and then it stopped. But it wasn’t an intruder, it was the washing machine wobbling and banging the wall. Make sure your loads are not too overloaded and that there is adequate space from the walls.

The trees are rooting for you!

Sure, the water drained slowly for a while, but that’s not a problem, right? I was running the laundry and the dishwasher, and all was fine until I heard a waterfall from the bathrooms. I tried the plunger and put towels on the floor to mop the water off the floor, but the water kept pouring out of the toilets. It was the tree roots that clogged my sewer drain and what made it worse was not realizing that the appliances were sending water down the drain only to pop up in the bathrooms.

Know where your sewer line exits your home and see if you have a cleanout. If you don’t have a cleanout, talk to a plumber about whether you may need one. Look at trees near your sewer line. If you experience frequent slow drains, consult with a plumber about possible solutions.

The drain cleaner ate my plumbing

You get busy and forget what you are doing until what you forgot costs $$$. Pouring drain cleaner chemicals down your drain to clear clogs can also damage your plumbing if done often, left in the plumbing without flushing it out on time, or if the directions are not followed correctly. The chemicals can weaken you pipes and seals. Know your pipe material and follow instructions precisely (set a timer). Consider alternatives to clearing a clog.

Drip drip drip from the attic

You hear a drip, a drip, another drip, a puddle. Oh, great. We have a roof leak in the rain, or is it something else? Don’t wait for the rain to stop; look in the attic. Scary place, I know, but your home has a sewer vent to help ghastly odors escape. If you have an old house, your sewer vent may be the source of the leak, either through corrosion of the pipe or where it comes through the roof.

The mail doesn’t come on Sundays?

The toilet was clogged, and we couldn’t get it to flush anymore. Finally, we called a plumber and they pulled out the blockage of envelopes. Yes, a previous renter clogged the toilet with the open envelopes from the mail.

Only toilet paper goes in the toilet. Everything else is trash or recycling.

Hear a noise, see a damp spot?

Don’t be scared. If you see water where it shouldn’t be, grab your flashlight and start investigating like Scooby Doo and the Mystery Gang.

General, Water Quality

Bad Drinking Water Tastes and Odors May Be Coming from Your Own Front Yard

It may seem surprising, but what you do in your front yard can affect the taste and odor of your drinking water.

How? 

Your private plumbing system begins at the end of the meter box. The plumbing in your front yard may be made of PVC, PEX, or other pipe materials that can allow some outside chemical contaminants, such as pesticides and fuels, to seep through their joints. 

Why should I care? 

Damaging your service line can be costly, often requiring thousands of dollars for replacement. Read the stories below to learn more from real-life events.

Real-Life Examples

– A customer parked their car over the grass between the meter box and their house. The car’s oil leak seeped into the service pipe. 

– A customer attempted to eliminate an underground wasp nest by pouring gasoline into the hole. The gas flowed beside the private service line, causing odor and taste issues, and had to be replaced. 

– A customer reported a chemical odor and taste that was traced to a painter washing a brush with turpentine and pouring the turpentine on the ground over the water line.

– A customer reported a plastic odor and taste, which was traced a garden hose filled with water in the heating up from the sun and creating a bad taste. 

– A customer reported a chemical soapy odor and taste that was traced to a plant fertilizer bottle attached to the hose.  A low-pressure event can cause water to be back-siphoned into the house if there is no backflow prevention device.

Tips 

  • Call NC811 before you dig.
    • Most service lines run straight from the meter box to the home. Is anything leaking above the service line, like a car?
    • Was anything sprayed or poured on the front yard between the water meter and the home?
  • Run cold water for 10 minutes to see if the problem continues. 
  • Check all faucets to see if the issue is isolated to one faucet or affects the entire house. 
  • Talk to your neighbors to see if they are experiencing similar issues. 
  • If you notice any unusual odor or taste, call 311 immediately and say or select water quality emergency.
  • Drain odors can often be mistaken for tap water odors.  Pour a glass of water and move away from the sink drain.  Smell the glass of water; if no odor, check the drain and perform cleaning. 
  • Aging water heaters can cause odors.  If your cold water has no odor but the hot water does, perform maintenance on your water heater as per the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Behind the Scenes, Distance Learning, General, How Things Work, News, Water Quality

Say Goodbye to Slimy Mats: Lyngbya Treatment Underway at Lake Norman, Mountain Island & Lake Wylie

Lyngbya Treatment on Mountain Island Lake.

If you’ve spent any time around Lake Norman, Mountain Island Lake, or Lake Wylie in recent summers, you might’ve noticed thick, dark, musty-smelling mats floating near the shore. That fuzzy stuff? It’s not harmless lake gunk—it’s a type of algae called Lyngbya, and it’s been quietly spreading across southern reservoirs, turning once-clear waters into mucky messes.

But there’s good news on the horizon.

Starting this month and continuing through September, a coordinated effort is underway to treat Lyngbya in all three lakes. This initiative is led by the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group, with help from county governments, marine commissions, North Carolina State University, and Duke Energy. The result? A much more streamlined and effective plan to tackle this invasive algae head-on.

What Exactly Is Lyngbya?

Lyngbya (recently reclassified as Microseria wollei) is a type of cyanobacteria—often called blue-green algae—that thrives in warm, nutrient-rich water. Unlike some seasonal algae, Lyngbya doesn’t go away when summer ends. It lives year-round on the lake bottom, then floats to the surface as water temperatures rise, forming dense mats that can clog boat motors, reduce water quality, and frankly, make lakes less enjoyable for everyone.

To give you a sense of how aggressive it can be: in 2024, Lake Gaston on the NC/VA border reported over 1,000 acres of Lyngbya infestation.

What’s Being Done?

For the 2025 season, treatment will cover 60 acres total across the three lakes:

  • 25 acres in Lake Norman
  • 25 acres in Mountain Island Lake
  • 10 acres in Lake Wylie

Monthly treatments will be handled by Aqua Services, Inc., using EPA-approved copper-based algaecides distributed by SePRO Corporation. If you live near the water, expect to see airboats cruising the shoreline mid-month, releasing a bright blue liquid into the water. That’s the algaecide at work—it may look dramatic, but it’s safe for fishing, swimming, and watering your plants.

Will It Work?

The short answer: yes, but it will take time.

Because Lyngbya is tough to kill and can look alive even when it’s not, results won’t be obvious overnight. You might see fewer surface mats this summer, but the real payoff will come after several treatment seasons. This approach mirrors the successful program at Lake Gaston, which is already seeing noticeable reductions in Lyngbya after multiple years of consistent treatment.

What Can You Do?

If you’re a lakefront property owner or just someone who loves spending weekends on the water, stay informed! You can report problem areas or learn more about aquatic vegetation management by emailing AquaticPlants@duke-energy.com or visiting duke-energy.com/AquaticPlants.

Bottom line: Lyngbya might be stubborn, but so are we. With consistent treatment and community awareness, our lakes can stay clean, healthy, and a joy to explore for years to come.

Got questions or curious about what you’re seeing in the water? Drop them in the comments—we’ll help you make sense of the science.

Additional Information:

2024 update about Lyngbya.

Microplastics Reduction Research at Charlotte Water.