Any individual using a fire hydrant to draw water must have a 2022-2024 Green Hydrant Permit Decal located on the back or side of their equipment.
The Charlotte Water fire hydrant program provides temporary service for customers in Mecklenburg County for authorized use of public fire hydrants. Hydrants are part of the water distribution system and an essential part of public safety, public health, and customer service to our community. Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) and Charlotte Water (CLT-Water) are the only two organizations authorized access to the fire hydrants without a special permit.
You play a crucial role in the Hydrant Permit Program. If you notice a company using a fire hydrant and they don’t have the proper Hydrant Permit Decal, immediately report it to Charlotte Water by calling 311 or 704-336-7600.
Please provide the following information:
Time and Location of Occurrence, include any address or cross streets.
Description of Vehicle or Assembly, including Company Name.
License Plate Number, Name of Operator, or description of individuals.
Every year, Charlotte Water creates a report detailing how we did collecting, delivering and treating Mecklenburg County’s wastewater. Here are the highlights and some thoughts about the important role wastewater treatment plays in our society.
This past year we successfully collected and treated more than 99.9% of the 32 billion gallons of the community’s wastewater.
There were 151 sanitary sewer overflows in our community, a decrease of 11 spills compared to last year.
The number of spills per 100 miles declined from 9.2 in fiscal year 2008 to 3.4 in fiscal year 2020.
Our staff continue to work strategically to clear blockages and repair wastewater pipes before they cause sanitary sewer overflows.
405.5 miles of wastewater pipes were treated with root control chemicals.
944.5 miles of wastewater pipes or 24% of our system was cleaned.
13.2 miles of wastewater pipe and 264 manholes were rehabilitated or replaced.
Want to do a deeper dive? Visit our website for the full report.
We asked our staff who work in wastewater why they take pride in their job and what they wish the community knew about wastewater treatment. Here is what they said.
Henry Eudy, Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager
“If you take a long look at human history, wastewater treatment is really one of the most important building blocks in the foundation of civilization. Access to clean water is one of our primal necessities just as organisms in general.
As we grow and advance, we take more and more from the natural world around us. If we don’t take steps to mitigate the effects of our unprecedented success as a species on the basic building blocks that give us life, then we die.
An advanced human civilization is not possible without wastewater treatment. What we do is a necessity and a lynchpin to civilization. In a way, the rest of the world is built upon our efforts. The rest of the world may not see it that way, but if we look back over our long shared history, our service to mankind is profound.”- Henry Eudy, Mallard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager
Johanna McHone, Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator
Johanna, Wastewater Treatment Operator at McDowell grew up around some substantial mine waste. That sparked her desire to want to help clean up the earth and then became interested in the wastewater treatment process.
“A wastewater treatment plant is much like a human body in its functions. Some think it’s disgusting, but we all should be grateful there are operators around to do just this. Without us, the wastewater would end up untreated in the creeks, rivers and oceans. Then where would we get water to drink and shower with? Everyone has a purpose in life, nurses, teachers, engineers etc. There are jobs out there I would not want to do, but this is a perfect fit for me. – says Johanna.
Muriel Steele, Water Quality Specialist
“Treatment plants were originally conceived with the express purpose of controlling infectious diseases! Of course, we have since realized and embraced the added benefits of protecting the environment and natural (and downstream drinking) water quality. Pathogen removal/inactivation is something we are doing 24/7/365, even when there isn’t a global pandemic.”- Muriel Steele
You can help reduce sanitary sewer overflows. Do not put grease, fats, or oils in the drain and do not flush wipes. Throw them in the trash instead.
Like the image above? You can get a poster version to hang in your businesses restroom. Just email Alfonso Jones ajones@charlottenc.gov
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.
Have you ever seen a green pole next to the road and wondered, what is this? They seem to be popping up all over the county. Turns out, those green poles are water sampling stations.
In addition to testing the drinking water at our treatment plants before it travels to your home or business, we also perform tests throughout the 4,300 miles of our water distribution system. We perform more than 200,000 drinking water tests every year.
Historically, in addition to testing at fire hydrants, we went inside local businesses and schools to perform these tests. It created many logistical and accuracy challenges including:
Scheduling testing with local businesses or schools.
Only being able to test inside the buildings when they are open.
Ensuring customers understand that we are performing routine testing.
Testing from locations that may have not properly maintained their private plumbing fixtures which could change the composition of the sample and create false positives.
This process didn’t give us the most accurate picture of the water quality in our distribution system. So five years ago, Charlotte Water started installing sampling stations that connected directly to our water mains. This allowed our water quality specialists to sample water at any time and to not have to worry about private plumbing issues that may alter the water sample. We were also able to install sampling stations in strategic locations to enhance water quality monitoring throughout the county.
So far, we have installed almost 300 monitoring stations across the county with plans to install many more.
This is just one of the many ways we strive to provide you with the best drinking water possible at an affordable price.
