Tag Archives: service

Behind the Scenes, Employee Spotlights

Something To Be Grateful For

We’re grateful for our Charlotte Water employees who work 24/7/365 so that the rest of us can enjoy the holiday.

As you sit down for your Thanksgiving meal and you are pondering a unique thing to be thankful for, you can be grateful for running water and safely managed sanitation. According to the WHO and UNICEF’s Progress on Household Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Report, only 74% of the world’s population has safe drinking water. That means more than two billion people are without consistent access to clean drinking water.   

Additionally, only 54% of the world’s population has access to safely regulated sanitation services. We are incredibly fortunate to have safe, high-quality water and well-maintained wastewater systems.

Charlotte Water is one of the largest water and sanitation service utilities in the Southeast with over 1,050 employees to support the more than one million residents.  To keep over 9,000 miles of water and wastewater pipes, three water treatment plants, seven wastewater treatment plants, and several water storage, water towers, and facilities all maintained and running 24/7/365, many Charlotte Water employees must work on and through holidays or stay on-call in case of emergencies.   

Leaks and backups happen on holidays, too!

Crystal Josey works as a dispatcher for Charlotte Water. She shares her experience working over holidays:

“My job during the holiday is no different than it is during normal working hours. Water leaks still happen and sewer backups still occur. These incidents happen any time of any day. My job is to take the correct information from the reporting person and send the correct crew to investigate and/or make necessary repairs. A crew must be paged in from home, get everyone together, and get to the truck and the work site.”  

Barbara Armstrong is a Sr. Water Service Technician. She is first on-site for leaks and breaks. She describes her role:

“Water service leaks are unpredictable, and they could happen at any given time including during the holidays. I can repair some water service leaks in an average timeframe of approximately, 10-30 minutes. However emergency main breaks or emergency water service leaks can typically take 2 to 4 hours to complete, and they are completed by a Field Operations Construction Crew. For the most part, we don’t want to interrupt the customers’ holiday, and we only make emergency repairs on the holidays.”  

Don’t wash grease down the pipes

When families making meals wash grease down the sink, the risk of pipes backing up or clogging increases. As the weather gets colder, the grease hardens into solid masses that cause problems.

“Sewer complaints are always handled as an emergency and we seem to receive more sewer calls over the holidays for various reasons. A lot of cooking and grease/food down the drain is not a good thing,” Josey comments.  

Keep this in mind as you prepare your holiday meals! When grease hardens in pipes, it can cause messy, smelly back-ups. These back-ups can cause sewer overflows or even come back into your house. So, wipe your pans out with paper towels, throw them away, and our pipes will continue to flow free.

Say “Hi!” if you see our trucks

Charlotteans wouldn’t be able to appreciate the holiday without dedicated Charlotte Water staff serving the community. Take a moment to thank those who are working diligently to manage these systems and those who are ready to jump in if there is an emergency while you’re celebrating. If you see Charlotte Water trucks in your neighborhood, wave and say hi! Armstrong shares:

“Working on the holiday is an added bonus for me because I enjoy serving the community, and it makes me feel proud when customers see me driving a Charlotte Water vehicle throughout their neighborhoods. Customers are very happy to see me arrive at their residence on a holiday. Most of them can’t believe that I am working on a holiday, and then they are very thankful for my service. I take pride in what I do, and I’m always there to help our customers. I try to put their worries at ease and let them know that Charlotte Water will take care of any issue that they may have as long as it’s not on the private side.”  

Barbara Armstrong poses with her lucky charm, an angel. It was a gift from a grateful customer who called Barbara “her angel” for helping her.
Crystal Josey, posed with her cat. When she is away from work, she loves taking her cat for a car ride.

* Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2020: five years into the SDGs. Geneva: World Health
Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2021.

Behind the Scenes, Employee Spotlights

Veterans Day: Highlighting Our Charlotte Water Veterans

We are grateful for the contribution and sacrifice of Veterans and their families everywhere. We have many Veterans who work for Charlotte Water, and their service is invaluable. This Veterans Day we are highlighting some of our staff members who have shared their insights, experiences, and perspectives they have gained from their service, and the influence it has made on how they work and serve our community today. We appreciate their service and their continued dedication to the community.

William Lee

U. S. Army: 10 years of service; Drill Sergeant (Instructor) 

Current Job:

Field Ops Zone Manager: William is currently responsible for the daily operations and leadership for thirty-five employees in Zone 1 which services three townships and the City of Charlotte. 

What I learned from my service:

“In my experience of serving my country, it allowed me to gather a vast amount of knowledge and skills that were transferable to me becoming a productive citizen and leader in the civilian world.” 

Nathan Kamphaus

United States Coast Guard: 2000-2004 Active; 2004-2008 Reserve 

Current Job: 

IDS Plans Reviewer: Nathan is responsible for New Service Plan Reviews 

What I learned from my service: 

“For any public service, I think integrity and honesty whether it be with your shipmates or coworkers is the base of a successful career and reputation. Always try to better yourself….no matter how hard any task looks stay positive and you will make it through.” 

Michele Duval

US Air Force: 20 years 

Current Job: 

Technology Support Specialist: Michele provides technical support for the department. 

What I learned from my service:

“In the Air Force, we are all there to support the jets, the pilots, and their mission. My role in that was tech support and now I am providing tech support for the men and women dedicated to providing clean water to the Charlotte community. I’m very proud to be a part of this.” 

Michele Duval (center)

Mark Goodman

Army: 11 years; Army Reserve: 31 years 

Current Job: 

Utility Management Systems Manager in CLT Water Technology: Mark is responsible for planning and leading a variety of billing and customer service technology projects and efforts. 

What I learned from my service: 

“I learned how to apply an array of leadership skills in very challenging technical environments.” 

Tamara Byers

US Army

Current Job:

Human Resources Manager for CLT Water

What I learned from my service:

“Leadership – I learned how to lead a squad and work with people with all types of backgrounds, attitudes, and personalities. This experience has prepared me for my role as an HR Manager. You have to have confidence in the decisions that you make 

Team player – In the military you always had the “Buddy System”. You need others in order to accomplish a mission. Each person has their own role but collectively we have the confidence to make it happen. 

Adaptability – You have to learn how to adapt in any situation. You learn how to be creative and think outside the box no matter what is thrown at you. This is essential in any job. 

Integrity – Being in the military, you have to adhere to a strict moral code. In my role, being an honest person, trustworthy and dependable is essential to the role I currently hold.” 

Jason Bromirski

Army Reserve: 2009 – present 

Current Job: 

Senior Engineer in the Field Operations Division: Jason’s group, Strategic Operations Support, provides condition assessments on our sewer infrastructure by testing our sewer lines for blockages.

What I learned from my service:

“The biggest thing I learned is probably remaining calm under pressure. It doesn’t matter if it is a large break in a sewer line that is dumping into a creek or a large water main that has ruptured, remaining calm and thinking through the problem and the steps needed to repair the situation gives other people confidence that we as a team can get things back to normal. Another important piece is constant communication with staff on-site, so they know the plan, our public affairs staff, compliance personnel, Chiefs of Operations, Deputy Directors, and the Director. They all update internal and external entities with current information, and you would rather have that be an information push than an information pull.”

Jason Bromirski (right)

Ron Wallace

US Army and Army Reserves: 23 years; retired 

Current Job: 

Treatment Plant Maintenance Supervisor: Ron is currently working on Special Projects for the Maintenance Division (Cathodic Protection, Engineer Parcels, and CityWorks).

What I learned from my service:

“I learned how to be patient with people and listen to their concerns.” 

Ron Wallace (right)

Behind the Scenes, Employee Spotlights

Water Week Spotlight: Letitia Harvey, Service Dispatcher

Drinking Water Week continues as we spotlight one of our “behind-the-scenes” staff members, Letitia Harvey, a Service Dispatcher. Letitia and her team play a critical role in communicating with staff across multiple divisions to ensure water is always there when you need it. We sat down with Letitia and discussed more about her important role with Charlotte Water.

Taken by Cam Coley, employee City of Charlotte, Charlotte Water

For Dispatchers each day is different, because new and unique situations arise every day! At the beginning of her shift, Letitia receives a debriefing from the previous shift on any incidents or updates she needs to be aware of going into her day. She then logs into a variety of internal systems needed to perform her job throughout the day.

Dispatchers also have to use a two-way radio and phone to quickly communicate with crews and senior water technicians who are working out in the field. Dispatchers have to be very organized and in control of their devices at all times.

Letitia has worked for Charlotte Water as a Dispatcher for a little over two years, and received the Field Operations “Employee of the Year” award in 2020. Last year during the pandemic, Letitia and her team made the best of their situation, as they were not able to work from home. They really exemplified the theme of “there when you need it” because they had to take on additional responsibilities as needed while they were working in the office during the pandemic. The dispatch team has eight staff members, including their supervisor, Fred Moody, who always works with the team and helps out where needed.

Letitia also gave a shout out to Scott Clark, Chief of Operations, who never missed a day during the pandemic. Letitia shared that Scott reported to work every day with an optimistic outlook on safety pertaining to the pandemic, and he provided the Dispatch team with additional resources and support as needed. His presence was an added comfort during very trying times coping with the Pandemic, and they appreciated that they were “not alone” during the uncertain times. This example really solidifies the theme of “there when you need it.” Letitia shared how staff members work together in unity, no matter what curve ball is thrown in their path; they are “always there when you need us.”

Taken by Cam Coley, employee City of Charlotte, Charlotte Water

Her favorite part about her job is problem solving. It is very rewarding being able to assist customers, who are many times in a panic when they call in about an issue or outage with their water. It is a good feeling knowing that you have the resources to help customers and make them feel at ease knowing that we can address and help the situation.

One rewarding experience that Letitia shared, was one Sunday, when calls go directly to Dispatch instead of coming through 311 first, there was a customer who was out of water for a prolonged period of time that day. The customer’s outage time had been extended, so they took a pitcher of water out to her so that the customer would have enough water to get through the remainder of the outage.

As a dispatcher, your day pretty much never stops; on a typical day they receive over a hundred calls. But for Letitia, that is a good thing. She thrives when she is busy and getting the job done. Her least favorite part about her job is the down time when things slow down, and the calls and emails take a pause. However, this is a good opportunity to catch up on any emails, which have to be monitored very closely.

Emails are another very critical part of a Dispatcher’s role, as many issues and requests come through email in addition to the many calls they receive. Everyone has a variety of issues that are coming in via email, and they must be prioritized accordingly. Letitia is also responsible for monitoring camera surveillance for Zone 2, monitoring the gates to control who enters their Zone. She also monitors the SCADA system which monitors when the treatment plants do their testing, and when they hear an alarm at the lift station.

Letitia enjoys staying busy, but also knows that self care is very important. She had the clever idea of creating a “Zen zone” at her desk, to take small breaks as needed to reset during the day.

Letitia’s “Zen zone” at her desk and her Employee of the Year Award

Thank you Letitia for sharing with us more information about your role, and thank you for all that you and your team do for our community to keep water there when you need it!

Continue to follow along this week as we will share more “day in the life” stories of our staff members during National Drinking Water Week!

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