Charlotte Water and the City of Mount Holly celebrated the official commissioning of the Mount Holly Pump Station at Tuckaseege Park. This transformative moment reinforces our commitment to providing the best regional water infrastructure for our community.
Connecting Communities
This commissioning ceremony represents more than just flipping a switch; it’s the culmination of extensive regional collaboration and engineering innovation. The new pump station now connects Mount Holly’s wastewater system to Charlotte Water’s regional network through specially installed pipelines running approximately 65 feet beneath the Catawba River and Long Creek.
How It Works
Wastewater travels from Mount Holly homes and businesses to the new Mount Holly Pump Station
The station then pumps wastewater through underwater pipelines to Charlotte Water’s Long Creek Pump Station
From there, wastewater will be treated at existing Charlotte Water facilities
Partnership for the Future
This commissioning is a huge milestone in the larger Stowe Regional Water Resource Recovery Facility project. By transitioning Mount Holly’s wastewater service to Charlotte Water, we’re creating a more resilient and sustainable system that will protect water quality in the Catawba River while preparing our communities for future growth.
We extend our gratitude to everyone who joined us for this historic celebration. This achievement represents true connection across communities, demonstrating what’s possible when we work together to protect our water resources for generations to come.
What happens when industry and environmental protection join forces? For 28 years, Charlotte’s Environmental Excellence Awards have been answering that question with remarkable results.
This year’s ceremony celebrates nearly three decades of partnership between Charlotte Water and industrial customers who’ve chosen to go beyond compliance. We’re recognizing over 800 awards that represent real environmental stewardship, facilities that don’t just meet permit requirements but actively champion environmental protection.
Taken by Cam Coley, employee City of Charlotte, Charlotte Water
The Impact Speaks Volumes: These collective efforts contribute to award-winning wastewater treatment facilities and the beneficial reuse of over 200,000 tons of biosolids since 1997. Each recognition represents a facility that has embraced environmental leadership as a core value, creating ripple effects throughout our community’s water systems.
Award Criteria: Platinum – 5+ consecutive years of 100% compliance (reporting, monitoring, permit limits). No slug loading or SNC. Must discharge during year.
Gold – 100% compliance for 1 year. No slug loading in 2024. No SNC for 2 years. Must be permitted all of 2024 and discharge during year.
Silver – 100% compliance for reporting/monitoring; 90%+ compliance for permit limits for 1 year. No slug loading in 2024. No SNC for 2 years. Must be permitted all of 2024 and discharge during year.
Most Improved – 100% compliance for reporting/monitoring and 90%+ compliance for permit limits in 2024. No SNC or slug loading in 2024.
Crown Award – Must qualify for Platinum, Gold, or Silver and apply for one category:
Industrial Pretreatment – 100% compliance for 2+ years plus innovative technology, environmental excellence, and cooperation with Charlotte Water.
Water Conservation – Significant water use reduction or unique conservation/reuse approach.
Pollution Prevention – Source reduction program while maintaining high environmental standards.
Taken by Cam Coley, employee City of Charlotte, Charlotte Water
Crown Award Recipients:
At the summit of environmental achievement, two organizations demonstrate what’s possible when industry embraces transformative change.
Bakkavor Foods USA earned the Crown Award for Most Improved; a recognition that tells a powerful story of environmental transformation. In food processing, where water usage presents complex challenges, their journey represents a fundamental shift in operational thinking.
Mecklenburg County 521 Foxhole Landfill claimed the Crown Award for Pollution Prevention, showcasing how waste management facilities can become environmental showcases rather than necessary burdens.
Platinum Award Recipients:
The Platinum tier reveals something fascinating: environmental excellence isn’t a destination, but a sustained journey.
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company – 5th year
Chematron Incorporated – 1st year
Mecklenburg County 521 Foxhole Landfill – 14th year
Norfolk Southern Railway – Charlotte Roadway Shop – 9th year
Gold and Silver Awards Recipients:
The remaining 22 award recipients create a comprehensive network of environmental leadership spanning diverse sectors:
Gold Award: AO Smith Corporation, Arjobex America, Carrier Corporation, Charleston Spar, Chesapeake Treatment Company, Cintas Corporation 99k, Du-Norton, Frito-Lay, Hardcoatings, Safe Fleet, Snyder’s-Lance, Trane U.S., Union County Water, Vest Water Treatment Plant, Wallace Farm
Silver Award: Allied Plating Finishing, Bakkavor Foods USA, Barnhardt Manufacturing Company, Broadcom, Inolex Incorporated, Liquid Environmental Solutions, Pan-Glo Charlotte
These awards aren’t just certificates, they represent a fundamental shift in how industry views environmental responsibility. Each recipient demonstrates that environmental excellence and operational success aren’t competing priorities but complementary strategies, strengthening business performance and community health.
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.
Charlotte Water is once again providing reclaimed water to customers in the University Area, after a 10-year hiatus. Charlotte Water’s Mallard Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF ) produces high-quality reclaimed water that is distributed to permitted users, who use the water for irrigation and cooling tower water. The reclaimed water system was constructed and placed into service in 1997 and provided permitted users with high quality reclaimed water until 2014. When the Mallard Creek WRRF experienced an illicit discharge of PCB’s (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) in 2014, the Reclaimed Water System was shut down to protect permitted user’s systems from potential contamination.
Following the illicit PCB discharge to the Mallard Creek WRRF, the facility underwent a lengthy decontamination process in order to ensure the facility was free of PCBs. After the decontamination process, the Mallard Creek WRRF was due for Improvements and Capacity Expansion, due to the growth in the University Area. As the Improvements and Capacity Expansion were nearing completion, discussions with previous and potential new reclaimed water users began, and a timeline was set for the Reclaimed Water System to be re-activated. The goal was to have the Reclaimed Water System back in service by the Summer of 2024.
The work to get the Reclaimed Water System back in service started in the early part of 2023. Charlotte Water’s Environmental Management Division (EMD) started discussions throughout the department to plan for restarting the Reclaimed Water System after being dormant for 10 years.The various groups within Charlotte Water that came together for this effort included; Field Operations, Engineering, Water Treatment, Maintenance, Backflow, Customer Service, IT, and Laboratory Services. This cross-functional team, with Leadership from Billy Allen (CLTWater’s Reclaimed Water System Coordinator), successfully conducted major required activities to get the system ready for operation once again.The major activities that needed to take place, included locating all valves and air release stations, exercising valves, testing backflow preventers, rebuilding air release stations, clearing right of ways, flushing of the reclaimed water pipelines with potable water, pressure testing the system with potable water, repairing two significant leaks, final flushing with reclaimed water, and sampling of the reclaimed water to ensure reclaimed water quality standards are being met.
Once the hard work from this cross-functional team was complete, Charlotte Water was ready to place the Reclaimed Water System back into service for the first time in 10 years. On the morning of November 7th, a team from Charlotte Water’s EMD and Maintenance Divisions, completed the Switchover from Potable Water to Reclaimed Water, at The Tradition Golf Course, which Mecklenburg County owns. CLTWater EMD and Maintenance Division Staff accompanied Pinnacle Golf Staff (the contract golf course operator for Mecklenburg County) onto the course, to observe them restarting their irrigation system on reclaimed water and were able to confirm the successful transition back to reclaimed water, by seeing reclaimed water applied to the green on hole 16.
Currently, the only user that is actively receiving Reclaimed Water is The Tradition Golf Course, however the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) hopes to begin receiving and utilizing reclaimed water sometime in 2025. UNCC constructed a reclaimed water pipeline on their campus in 2022. CLTWater is also looking at ways to further expand the Reclaimed Water System in the University Area, as the use of reclaimed water offsets the use of potable water for irrigation and cooling tower water, as it reduces the impact on Charlotte Water’s Inter-Basin Transfer (IBT ) Certificate.
Many Charlotte Water Staff Members contributed greatly to this monumental effort, and everyone who participated should be extremely proud of this accomplishment! The Restarting of the Reclaimed Water System could not have happened without your hard work and dedication. A special recognition to the efforts of Rogers Brown, Corey Butler, Larry Davis, Don Rivers, and Shuhurah Lee, who all helped immensely with this effort in the field, during the past few months!
