Tag Archives: pandemic

Billing, My Water

Charlotte Water Announces Customer Care Program in Response to Pandemic

Charlotte Water, along with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, has created the Customer Care Program. The goal of the program is to work with customers to avoid any situation where a customer is disconnected for non-payment.

As the community’s supplier of water, now more than ever, Charlotte Water’s service to the community is critical to the health and well-being of residents. And, we realized that many customers are facing unexpected, unparalleled financial hardships.

As a first stage, on March 13, 2020, late fees on the water bills were no longer charged and customer shutoffs for non-payment were discontinued. Previously disconnected customers were reconnected immediately. When the Executive Order (EO 124/142) expired on July 29, 2020, Charlotte Water continued the practices started in March.

Charlotte Water is now moving into the next stage of customer assistance as the pandemic continues to impact the community by:

  • Continuing the temporary practice of not disconnecting customers for delinquent account balances and not imposing late charges, and
  • Actively working with customers to address and resolve their past due balances in the coming months through payment arrangements and financial assistance.

Customers with past due balances as of September 30 will automatically be placed on a 12-month, no interest payment arrangement beginning with their October 2020 statement. No action is needed by customers to begin the payment arrangement.

Charlotte Water has also enhanced partnerships with local non-profits such as Crisis Assistance Ministries to provide financial assistance programs.

Through the Customer Care Program, Charlotte Water has also established the Customer Care Team, a group of trained customer service professionals dedicated to work one-on-one with customers, connecting them with community assistance agencies and working with customers to address and resolve past due balances.

Legally, Charlotte Water cannot forgive charges for services received by customers during the pandemic despite the current economic hardships the community faces. The Customer Care Program matches customers struggling to make ends meet with community resources that can help while making sure that no one is without the water people need to stay healthy.

For more information, customers can visit charlottewater.org or contact 311 (704-336-7600).

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.