Category Archives: Water Quality

Behind the Scenes, Construction, General, How Things Work, My Water, Repairs and Spills, Water Quality

How Charlotte Water Repairs Water Pipe Leaks

With more than 4,500 miles of drinking water pipe, there is always something to fix. Customers can help by calling 311 or 704-336-7600 when they see or suspect a water leak or water main break. Even after the 311 Call Center is closed customers can say or select ‘water emergency’ to reach our dispatchers 24/7.

Charlotte Water prioritizes leaks so that crews repair emergency leaks first.

The Numbers
• 2,000+ repairs per year. Most are service line repairs (between the water main and meter box).
• There are multiple pipes under major roads (serving immediate areas and zip codes).
• Less than 10% of water pipe infrastructure is over 50 years due to proactive pipe replacement efforts.

Water Pipe Repair Step-By-Step

CLTWater Field Technician installing a flag to mark the leak location.

Investigate

Within hours, a field technician investigates and attempts to repair if it is an easy fix. If it is a leak that requires a construction crew, the technician prioritizes the leak based on severity. Many repairs require coordination with other departments or towns to minimize the impact on customers or drivers.

Staff spray painting where underground utilities are located before digging begins.

Locate

Call NC811 to have other utilities spray paint where their pipes / cables are before digging begins. This can take hours.







Staff turning water off to the leaking water pipe to maintain water to other portions of the neighborhood.

Isolate

Crews turn valves to stop water flowing through the leaking pipe. Crews may attempt to repair the pipe while keeping water in service for customers. Cones and barriers are set up to protect workers.

Excavate

Crews will uncover the pipe to make repairs or replace a section of the pipe. Crews will hand-dig portions to reduce the chance of damaging underground infrastructure.

Restore Water Service

Fire hydrants flow to test water quality before restoring water service to customers.









picture of a crew tamping soil before a compaction test during the phase to rebuild a road after a water leak underground.

Repave and Reopen

Crews will backfill soil into the trench, test compaction, and then repave the road.

Restoration

Straw is placed over dirt if the repair is in a yard. A separate crew or contractor will return several days or weeks later to complete restoration efforts.


What other factors may extend the time between reporting a water leak and the repair?

Crews attempt to repair leaks without a water outage when possible and if there is time will work on solutions to minimize the outage.

Challenges underground

  • Other utilities (fiber, storm water pipes) conflict with the repair and need to be replaced or moved including a large excavation area.
  • Pipe requires full replacement including cutting it out and inserting a new pipe.
  • Repaving depends on the weather. Air temperature is required to be a minimum of 40 degrees and rising in order to properly install asphalt.


Reducing impact on customers

  • Coordinating with Charlotte Department of Transportation, North Carolina Department of Transportation, and/or towns to plan the repair to minimize detours during high traffic times.
  • Installing new valves to minimize the number of customers affected by a water outage.
  • Above ground water pipes may be installed to serve customers if the pipe replacement will take several days to complete.

What caused the water main break / leak?

Unfortunately, since water main breaks occur underground, in most cases we can only speculate as to how exactly the pipe broke. Here are some factors:

  • Construction crews hitting mains while digging for other projects.
  •  Call 811 before you dig to locate the pipes
  • Temperature changes that can cause the soil to expand and contract, putting stress on pipes.
  • Sudden change in water pressure. Quick use of a hydrant to fight a fire or a water main break nearby can cause other pipes to leak.
  • Weak seals or a weakness where two pipes are joined together.
  • Soil conditions (movement, corrosion, extra soil on top pushing down on pipes)

What causes a water main to break?

There are several factors that can cause a pipe to break, including change in temperature, age and external damage.

Who should I call if I see a leak?

If you see or suspect a leak, call 3-1-1 or 704-336-7600 so that Charlotte Water can quickly dispatch a crew to the location. Our dispatchers are working 24/7 so even after CharMeck 311 is closed you can say or select water emergency after the audio greeting to reach our staff.

Learn more at

“Every day, Charlotte Water routinely repairs and maintains water and sewer pipes across our entire service area,” says Charlotte Water Director Angela Charles. “It’s important that we are doing all that we can to keep customers’ trust in our ability to provide clean, safe and reliable water service to the Charlotte region.”

To stay up to date on the most recent events and announcements, follow Charlotte Water on Twitter @CLTWater. For more information on other pipe replacement and restoration projects, visit us at CharlotteWater.org.

Water Quality

The Value of Water

Charlotte Water participated in the US Water Alliance’s national awareness campaign called Imagine a Day Without Water by producing a series of short videos that highlight the value of water in our region and the collaboration needed to plan for things like droughts, emergencies and even the extensive growth happening in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Our region has unique shared water resources, especially the vast network of lakes that are used for drinking water, energy and recreation.

We are grateful for the hard work of so many regional stakeholders that protect this precious resource. Visit our YouTube playlist, The Value of Water, to watch the full series, with the introductory video below.

General, My Water, Updates, Water Quality, What's Going On?

Charlotte Water Response to COVID-19

As the community’s primary provider of drinking water, Charlotte Water realizes the vital service we provide to the community. As such, the utility has taken the following steps in these unprecedented times to further prioritize uninterrupted safe, reliable and clean drinking water service for the health and welfare of our residents.

Discontinue Service Disconnections – On March 12, Charlotte Water discontinued service disconnections due to non-payment. Those customers who were disconnected at the time have since been re-connected. Customers should continue to make payments to avoid higher bills later.

Suspend Collection of Late Fees – On March 23, Charlotte Water suspended assessment of late fees associated with delinquent accounts in order to further reduce any hardship on customers. Customers who need assistance paying their Charlotte Water bill can contact 311 (704-336-7600) to learn about payment arrangement options as well as other community resources available to assist. Customers can also visit charlottewater.org to review available payment methods.

Shift Work Priorities – In a heightened effort to maintain constant water service, Charlotte Water has reassigned crews to focus on work that will cause the fewest interruptions in water service to customers. Steps taken to avoid service outages include:

  • postponing non-critical work,
  • installing temporary water connections where possible,
  • delaying low priority leak repairs, and
  • performing other important work that doesn’t require a water service outage.

Only in the most extreme cases of emergency and public safety is Charlotte Water doing work that would cause a temporary water service outage. In those instances, we are minimizing the outage duration and providing bottled water to the affected customers. Where practical, overnight work is also considered.

The steps taken by Charlotte Water allow the utility to comply with current NC Executive Orders, to keep contractors and employees working on important infrastructure maintenance, and, most importantly, to provide a service so critical to our community right now.

General, My Water, Water Quality

Your Garden Hose May Affect The Taste of Your Tap Water.

Sadly, this summer heat is not fading as we move into fall. Did you know that hot weather and your garden hose can cause funky drinking water tastes and odors in your plumbing?

Here are some pro tips to help you with this issue:

  • Disconnect the hose and run cold water from your faucet for a few minutes to flush the pipes.
  • Need a sip of water on a hot day? Get it from your internal sources (refrigerator, pitcher) instead of a garden-variety garden hose which aren’t manufactured for delivering potable (drinking) water.

If the taste or odor is still present after detaching the garden hose from external spigots, please call 311 or 704-336-7600. You can learn more about our water quality at charlottewater.org