Category Archives: Updates

Updates, What's Going On?

FY20 Wastewater Performance Report

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.
  • All seven wastewater treatment plants earned Peak Performance Awards from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.
  • 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

Updates, 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.

Updates, What's Going On?

The Green Pole Mystery: Solved

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.

Updates, What's Going On?

Questions related to COVID-19

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for frequent hand-washing, effective immediately, and until further notice, Charlotte Water will not disconnect water service accounts for non-payment.  Those currently disconnected will be re-connected.  Charlotte Water is committed to protecting our residents and providing them consistent access to high-quality water no matter their account status.

  • Does that mean I don’t have to pay my water bill anymore? No, customers are still responsible to pay for all water services received during this time and should continue to make payments to avoid a higher bill at a later date.
  • What is the reasoning behind this? It is to ensure that everyone has access to water for sanitary purposes as well as to not add any additional stress to our community members during this time.
  • How many people will this affect? 117 customer accounts will be turned back on within 24 hours.
  • When will this moratorium on delinquent shut-offs end? We will stay in contact with health officials to determine the appropriate time to lift the moratorium.
  • Has Charlotte Water ever done this before? We have done this in times where our community was in stress, such as severe weather (hurricanes) that caused mass power outages and other hardships for our community. For example, if many customers are without power due to severe weather, we will not add additional stress by turning a customer’s water off for non-payment.
  • How do I pay my water bill? Visit https://charlottenc.gov/Water/RatesBilling/Pages/WaterBill.aspx for information on all the ways you can pay your bill.
  • Where may I get help paying my bill? We encourage all customers who are having trouble paying their bill to call 311 (704-336-7600) to set up a payment plan or be referred to Crisis Assistance Ministries.

Fortunately, our strong partnership with Crisis Assistance Ministries has allowed us to refer customers that are due to be disconnected for delinquency. In most cases, all these customers have had their service restored within 24 hours.

Over the past 12 years, Charlotte Water has implemented various programs to reduce the number of delinquent turn-offs. The annual average of accounts that have been turned off for nonpayment has been around 1,600/month which is a reduction from our all-time high average of over 3,300 per month in 2017/2018.