Charlotte Water installs new water and sanitary sewer services connecting to accessible existing mains upon request by residential/commercial customers.
A water service includes the following:
- Connection to the public water main;
- Service lateral to property line valve or 1 foot behind the meter (whichever is applicable);
- Meter assembly & vault
A sewer service includes the following:
- Connection to the existing public sewer main or existing/proposed manhole;
- Service lateral to the edge of public road right-of-way or limits of sewer easement;
- Clean out / Stub out for the connection by a private plumber
Alternate Installation Program
Charlotte Water’s Alternate Install program allows a Developer/Customer to install CLTWater new service connections (to existing CLTWater water/sewer mains) under CLTWater approval and inspection. Developers/Customers have the option to pay Plan Review/Inspection fees for each service in lieu of Connections fees for services. The Developer/Customer will execute a contract with CLTWater prior to starting construction. Once construction of the new service connections is completed and approved by CLTWater the Developer/Customer will donate the service infrastructure to CLTWater for ownership and maintenance.
Definitions
- Developer/Customer- Entity or person requesting water or sewer service from CLTWater.
- CLTWater- The Charlotte Water Department, a department of the City of Charlotte
- IDS- Installation and Development Services division of CLTWater
- Customer Service – The customer service division of CLTWater
- Alternate Install- A process where a developer/contractor can hire a licensed utility contractor to install water or sewer service connections
- Utility Contractor- The licensed contractor hired by the Developer/Customer to perform the construction work
- Inspector- The assigned CLTWater Construction Inspector for the project
- Developers Engineer- A licensed civil engineer hired by the Developer/Customer
- Plan Review/Inspection Fees(PR/I)- Fees paid to CLTWater for the Alternate Install
process.
- Connection Fees- Fees paid to CLTWater for services to be installed by CLTWater.
- Request for Contract form- A form to be completed by the Developer/Customer indicating their request for an Alternate Install contract.
- Contract Agreement- A contractual agreement between CLTWater and the Developer/Customer regarding the obligations of both parties.
- Start Letter- A letter completed by the Developer/Contractor listing their Utility Contractor's information and anticipated start date.
- COI- Certification of Insurance held by the Utility Contractor.
How to request an Alternate Install
- The Developer/Customer will receive a quote letter that outlines the fees due for each method of service installation, CLTWater-installed or Alternate Install.
- For service types/sizes that do not require a quote from CLTWater, the Developer/Customer shall request an Alternate Install quote from the Charlotte Water/Engineering Installation and Development Services group.
- The customer shall submit application and payment for the Plan Review/Inspection (PR/I) fees to CLTWater Customer Service.
- CLTWater IDS division will send the Developer/Customer the Request for Contract form to start the Alternate Install process.
Process
- The Developer/Customer shall complete the Request for Contract form and return to CLTWater.
- A Contract Agreement will be generated by CLTWater and sent to the Developer/Customer and the appropriate CLTWater staff for signatures.
- CLTWater will provide the executed Contract Agreement to the Developer/Customer along with a Start Letter template form.
- The Developer/Customer shall return the completed Start Letter along with their Utility Contractor’s COI.
- CLTWater will issue a Project Startup notice to all parties and assign an Inspector.
- Developer’s Utility Contractor coordinates a pre-construction meeting with the assigned Inspector and coordinates all construction with the Inspector.
- The Utility Contractor requests a final inspection with the Inspector. Developer’s Utility Contractor completes any and all necessary punchlist items from the final inspection.
- CLTWater accepts the infrastructure for ownership and maintenance.
Encroachments
Upon plan submittal or application, you will be notified if an encroachment permit is required. The most common encroachment requirement involves the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for connections on State maintained roads. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary documents for commercial encroachment submittals. CLT Water will submit the encroachment documents to NCDOT for approval.
Service Dismantlement
Existing services that need to be dismantled shall be performed by CLT Water. A dismantlement application shall be completed and submitted to Customer Service. Prior to dismantlement, the existing service(s) must be inactivated in our billing system by the owner.
Backflow Prevention
Backflow assemblies are required for all services except Residential domestic ¾" water services. Backflow plans shall be submitted to Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement for review.
Sewer Only Customers
Sewer-only customers are required to install a metering device on their private water supply.
Extension Policies
Applicants who do not have direct access to water and/or sewer mains may qualify for one of our Extension Programs.
Land Development (Donated) Projects
Service connections to mains being built under a Land Development (Donated) Project contract are typically installed by the developer. Once the water and/or sewer mains have been donated to the city, service connections shall be made by Charlotte Water.