Tag Archives: growth

Behind the Scenes, History

Lee Dukes Water Treatment Plant Turns 20

Twenty years ago North Mecklenburg County looked a lot different than it does today. Talk of toll roads and Whole Foods markets were not even on the radar. But Charlotte Water knew this region of the county was growing and with that came an increase in the need for water. At the time, all the water for the county was supplied by water from Mountain Island Lake, treated at Franklin and Vest and pumped up to residents in Northern Mecklenburg. With the addition of a new intake on Lake Norman at Blythe Landing and the treatment plant across the street, Charlotte Water could better serve the residents of north Mecklenburg with a closer water source.

Originally Lee Dukes, or North Mecklenburg Water Treatment Plant as it was once called, was built to be a community center in addition to a treatment plant. Unlike most treatment plants, the lobby area was designed to look aesthetically pleasing and shows off mosaics made by local children and artists and houses the extensive collection of woodcarvings made by Lee Dukes himself. Unfortunately due to increasing need for security after 9/11, community events in the facility had to be minimized. Though Blue Planet was not in the original plans, due to an EPA grant the environmental learning facility was built within Lee Dukes plant and served residents for ten years before being closed.

 

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Example of Mosaic Artwork Found at Lee Dukes

 

The plant opening was delayed a year due to difficulties installing the 60” diameter concrete pipe under Highway 73, this pipe connected the pump station at the lake to the treatment plant.

Three plant operators that were part of the inaugural staff on that day in 1998 still work at Charlotte Water, with two of them still working at the same plant. The science behind water treatment hasn’t changed much in 20 years and except for some updated office technology, the plant hasn’t changed much either.

 

Lake norman at blythe 43 copy
Pump Station at Blythe Landing on Lake Norman

Currently, Lee Dukes treats about 18 million gallons a day but the land purchased by Charlotte Water in the mid 90’s has room for much more equipment that would increase the capacity of the plant significantly if needed. This treatment plant is in it for the long haul and will continue to play an integral role in the growth of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson.

 

Behind the Scenes, History

Life in 1927 vs. 2017

No one can dispute that a lot has changed in 90 years. One thing that hasn’t changed is Charlotte Water’s commitment to safeguarding public health and protecting our waterways.  Our twin wastewater treatment plants, Sugar Creek and Irwin Creek are celebrating their 90th birthday this year (they were built in 1927). While these two plants have expanded and advanced in technology throughout the last 90 years, they continue to be an award-winning treatment plant that serves the Charlotte community 24/7.

Let’s compare the world in 1927 to now.

1927 2017
President: Calvin Coolidge President: Donald Trump
Top Film: The Jazz Singer

Jazz Singer

 Top Film: Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast
Top Song: Ain’t She Sweet by Gene Austin

Listen Here

 Top Song: Shape of You by Ed Sheeran

Listen Here
Average Household Income: $1,358 Average Household Income: $56,516
Gallon of milk cost: $0.56 Gallon of milk cost: $3.30
Gallon of Gas: $0.21 Gallon of Gas: $2.32
Postage Stamp: $0.02 Postage Stamp: $0.49
Top Book: The Complete Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes

 Top Book: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of A Family and Culture in Crisis By J.D. Vance

Hillbilly Elegy
Top Baby Name: Robert (m) Mary (f) Top Baby Name: Liam (m) Emma (f)
Average College Cost per year: $400 Average College Cost per year: $33,480

 

My Water, Water Quality

Response to EWG Water Quality Report

Charlotte Water has reviewed the information presented by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). We are disappointed that the EWG has elected to display the information in this manner. The website implies that Charlotte Water provides something less than a clean, safe and reliable source of drinking water for the Charlotte community.

Charlotte Water’s goal is to first provide the highest quality drinking water to customers and second meet all regulatory standards. All test results are reported to the State of North Carolina and posted on Charlotte Water’s website for the public to review.  Charlotte Water’s state-of-the-art treatment program is routinely recognized and awarded for the quality of water produced.  Treatment processes successfully manage corrosion of metals such as lead and copper and drive down organic materials to control disinfection byproducts. Continuous monitoring of water quality from the source to the tap assures the effectiveness of the treatment processes.  Charlotte Water maintains a network of more than 4,200 miles of pressurized pipes delivering water to homes and businesses 24/7.

The quality of Charlotte’s drinking water and the health and safety implications to our community are too serious to misrepresent. We encourage the public to review the data for themselves, understand the information and ask Charlotte Water any questions about our services.

Information related specifically to the EWG report

  • Seven of the eight constituents referenced by the EWG as a concern are Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) and reflect results from 2015 monitoring. Disinfection byproducts are formed when temperatures are high, pH is high and organics are present. There was an upward trend in DBPs in 2015 due to elevated bromide levels in our source (untreated) water which we wrote about and conducted a press conference. As soon as the trend was discovered Charlotte Water took swift action to notify the public, locate the source of upward trend, work to remove the impact and simultaneously manage the water quality provided to customers to keep them safe.
  • In order to achieve compliance with the EPA’s Stage II DBP Rule, the locational running annual average (LRAA) of each monitoring location sampled within Charlotte Water’s distribution system must be less than 80 ppb THM and 60 ppb HAA.  Charlotte Water is well within those water quality requirements.  Currently, Charlotte Water’s highest THM LRAA is 47.9 ppb while the highest HAA LRAA is 12.3 ppb.
  • Our treatment process is designed to first reduce the concentration of organic material in the source water, measured as total organic carbon (TOC), and followed by disinfection utilizing chlorine.  Natural organic material is a primary precursor for the formation of THMs when chlorine is utilized for disinfection.  Placing chlorination after organics removal in the treatment process results in less available organic material for chlorine to react with and limits the formation potential of THMs.  Other factors such as temperature and water age also play a significant role in the formation of THMs, with higher temperatures and longer water age resulting in higher THM concentrations.    Because Charlotte Water’s distribution system is so vast with over 4200 miles of pipeline, programmable flushing devices are utilized throughout the system to reduce water age.  In addition, elevated storage tanks are operated at lower levels during the summer months.
  • Charlotte Water supplies drinking water that has gone through a 6-stage treatment process to ensure the highest quality.
  • Every residential customer in Mecklenburg County received the 2016 Drinking Water Quality report by mail in June 2017.  A list of water quality parameters that were not detected in Charlotte’s drinking water is on the Charlotte Water website.
  • The EWG website cites information that is incorrect. Charlotte Water has not had any water quality violations in this time period.  Charlotte Water never exceeded the THM/HAA LRAA limits during the timeframe referenced below.  In fact, no individual data point exceeded the 80/60 levels for either constituent during this period (4th Qtr 2014, 1st Qtr 2015 and 2nd Qtr 2015). Follow up conversation with State regulators today confirms this information. A website glitch is the best explanation for the information the EWG cited. We’ve encountered this recently with both the State and EPA websites displaying incorrect information and then Charlotte Water has to make the accurate information available.
  • The EWG report compares reported results for Safe Drinking Water Act compliance to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s health guidelines for some contaminants.  These health guidelines are not regulatory standards but are specific to California and the requirements for setting drinking water standards in that state. There are no established health guidelines for drinking water quality in North Carolina other than what is required by the Safe Drinking Water Act which is regulated by EPA and the NC Department of Environmental Quality.

 

Drought & Conservation, My Water

Will We Run Out of water?

The short answer is no, not if we continue on a sustainable path and practice conservation. But what does that actually mean? And how do we know we won’t run out.

Let’s first look into our water supply. Then we will learn how it is managed and what you can do to ensure water is around for years and years.

City of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County withdraws our drinking water from Mountain Island Lake and Lake Norman, both part of the Catawba River and the Catawba-Wateree River Basin. This river basin supports nearly 2 million people with water for drinking, power generation, industrial processes, crop and livestock production, recreation, irrigation and more. About 25% of Duke Energy’s electricity for the Carolina’s is made in the 13 hydro stations on the river basin.

geographic map of Catawba-Wateree River Basin with several locations flagged with yellow markers and black font

So where exactly is this water going, and who uses it?

diagram of CW Reservoir System Water Balance to explain where is the water going from rain, sun, usage, irrigation, thermal power.

One of the most surprising things is that Catawba-Wateree River basin loses 204 million gallons/day from natural evaporation alone. You can imagine how much has evaporated during these hot summer months.

A 2006 Water Supply Study found maximum capacity of Catawba River Basin for water supply could be reached mid-century. Thus, a group was formed in 2007 to access and figure out a way to extend the life of our river basin.

This group that consists of Duke energy, who owns and operates the dams that manage the water and the 18 munincipalities is called the Catawba-Wateree Management Group. It is a non-profit corporation working to extend and enhance the capacity of the Catawba and Wateree Rivers to meet human needs while maintaining the ecological health of the waterway. This group was tasked with creating a Water Supply Master Plan.

The master plan identifies the current challenges associated with a limited water supply especially during periods of drought. It also identifies a series of recommendations that could extend the regional water supply capacity of the Catawba-Wateree River Basin into the next century.

Key recommendations of the plan include:

  • Increased water use efficiency
  • Lowering critical water intakes/elevations (via Duke Energy’s management of the dam system)
    • Power Plant
    • Public Water Supply
  • Raise target levels during the summer months
  • Enhance the Drought responsiveness through the Low Inflow Protocol (the protocol we use to determine what drought stage we are in and what amount of conservation is needed to ensure we have enough water for essential uses).

With implementation of the Catawba-Wateree Water Supply Master plan, we should extend the river’s capacity to sustain grown through 2100.

The good news is that total average water consumption for Charlotte Water customers is decreasing .Blue bar graph depicting total average consumption from 2007 to 2015 by the CCF or thousands

This is most likely attributed to more efficient appliances, smart irrigation and behavior changes.  This along with good infrastructure, financial and business planning will ensure that we have enough water for all current and future Mecklenburg County residents.

For more informatoin about the Water Supply Master Plan visit the Catawba-Wateree Management Group website.