Category Archives: Wastewater

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, Wastewater, Water Quality

Unlocking a New Level of Progress with a Plant: Nuvoda Pilot

Are small plant pieces key to a new level of greatness in the Queen City’s wastewater treatment process? Charlotte Water’s Sugar Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) has set out on a 12-month mission to learn.

Kenaf sample in an Imhoff Cone, the tool used to check how much kenaf is currently in Sugar Creek WRRF’s basins.

Nuvoda, a wastewater solutions company in Raleigh, NC, created the Mobile Organic Biofilm (MOB™) Process. The star of the show called kenaf is a fast-growing plant that can get rid of up to 10 tons of carbon dioxide per acre while growing. That’s eight times as much as evergreen trees! 

So, how does it work? Small pieces of kenaf are in all stages of Sugar Creek’s secondary treatment process. Its job is to help make space for helpful biofilms to grow.

Biofilms, a slime-like layer found in nature, grow on surfaces to eat the “waste” in wastewater and help solids settle faster.  This leads to treated water that can be safely returned to the environment.

The kenaf material is also reusable! A giant sift-like tool separates kenaf from the water. Screens inside of the filter are small enough to catch and make sure no kenaf is wasted or left to come out in your kitchen sink. Sugar Creek’s maintenance team even added some helpful features, like a ramp for it to fall out of the sift, into the bin below.

Muriel Steele, Water Process Engineer, guiding kenaf down a custom-made ramp through the final stages of the MOB cycle.

MOB and kenaf have other perks, too.

Chemicals like ammonia have to be controlled carefully while treating wastewater. The microorganisms needed to treat ammonia can be hard to grow in cold temperatures, but biofilms can provide a cozy space for these specialists to grow. Kenaf boosts the amount of space for the biofilms.

Treatment facilities need to run as smoothly as possible during storms. Improved settling thanks to the kenaf can help with higher water flows during rainy days. So, as the extra water comes into the plant from bad weather, solids settle faster and there is a lower chance of anything unwanted continuing to the next treatment stage.

Kenaf is grown in Cameron, NC, and Charlotte Water is working to include these fields in our biosolids program. Biosolids are a nutrient-rich material made from treated wastewater, used to help plant growth and keep a healthy environment.

The Nuvoda MOB pilot is a chance for Charlotte Water to improve for the future by lowering costs and getting ready for the city to grow. By exploring this new process, Sugar Creek WRRF is gathering useful data to help make decisions for improvements. All thanks to a plant! 

To learn more about MOB and kenaf, visit Nuvoda’s website.

Video | Nuvoda: The MOB™ Process

Video | Nuvoda: Natural Ballasted Media for the MOB™ Process

My Water, Wastewater

A Foul Odor Outside May or May Not Be Wastewater

Have you ever ventured outside and something quite astonishing assaulted your nose? It may be easy to pin the blame on a wastewater treatment plant that could be nearby. However, foul odors commonly emanate from a variety of sources in our community:

  • Landfills
  • Industries (i.e. paper or chemical plants)
  • Natural gas pipeline work
  • A wastewater spill
  • Wastewater plants
  • Even private plumbing

Let’s start inside the home…


Private plumbing systems are designed to prevent wastewater gases from entering residences. All active sewer lines contain gases, and a malfunctioning plumbing system could allow gases or odors to enter the home.

Is the odor inside?

Is the odor only coming from…:

A drain that hasn’t been used recently?

We recommend for you to pour a gallon of water down the drain and see if the odor persists.

Multiple drains that are used frequently?

It may be a blockage or clog in your plumbing. Try a liquid dissolvent, please follow directions and see if this clears the clog and dissipates the odor.

A kitchen sink?

Clean the disposal (following the owner’s manual).

What you put down the drain (grease, oils, wipes) can cause odors clogging your plumbing. If the odor does not go away and is only inside your house, consider having a licensed plumber check your plumbing and vent system.

illustration of sink showing that water sits in the trap keeping gases and odors from coming out of the drain. Houses have a vent to the room so that any odor will escape outside.

Odor Outside Home?

Every home has a wastewater vent (on the roof) that could be the source of an odor immediately outside your home (patio, deck, etc.). The odor could be caused by a clog or blockage in your plumbing. Check with neighbors to see if they are also experiencing the odor. If it is only noticed just outside your building, contact a plumber.

Another place to check is in your front yard. Most homes also have a white plastic lid called a cleanout, and that if not closed properly it may cause odor in the yard.

If you live on waterfront property or the road is higher than your house, you may have a low-pressure sanitary sewer system to pump your wastewater up to the gravity fed sewer system. It is possible that this system may be causing an odor in the pump basin if something is malfunctioning.

What Can Cause A Wastewater Type Odor?

Sewage odor may be a sign of a nearby wastewater overflow that needs immediate attention.

​If you see or suspect a wastewater overflow or spill, call 311 or 704-336-7600 – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If calling after hours, please say or select ‘wastewater emergency’ to speak to our dispatchers.

If you live beside a wastewater treatment plant, there may be some occasions when a smell is noticeable outside the property. Wastewater odor can be noticeable during warm temperatures, buildup of debris in pipes, or low flow during some nights and weekends.

CLTWater Takes Odor Seriously

For decades, wastewater treatment plants that were once neighbors to farms and forests are now neighbors to residential neighborhoods and businesses. In fact, there’s a wastewater treatment plant in the Little Sugar Creek / South Park area! As people moved closer to our plants, CLTWater invested millions on odor reduction. We aren’t baking bread, but we try hard to make the treatment of our community’s wastewater less noticeable.

Air scrubbers, carbon filters, bio-filters, help CLTWater reduce odors that can occur during the wastewater treatment process. We are committed to safely treating wastewater and reducing odors. We appreciate your input to help us identify potential odors.

How Do I Report an Odor or Sewer Spill?

If you see or suspect a wastewater overflow, call 311 – 24 hours a day, seven days a week (say or select wastewater emergency).

  • Try to locate the source.
  • If it is coming from a manhole or a creek, call 311 or 704-336-7600 and provide the closest address.
  • A repair crew will respond quickly, investigate the cause and repair any publicly owned pipes, if needed.

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