admin posted on February 10, 2011 09:00
Water Line Repairs Taking Longer With Fewer Crews
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities is working hard to try to keep up with water leak repairs, but the wait times can be lengthy. There is a backlog of over 500 repairs that need to be fixed.
Two factors are exacerbating the backlog. First, cold weather always increases the number of breaks and this winter has been very cold. Second, budget limitations over the last several years have forced significant staff reductions. Utilities' workforce is reduced from 31 repair crews to 13 crews due to more than two years of hiring freezes and the employee attrition that has taken place during that time. Utilities recently hired private contractors to assist in bringing down the backlog of repairs.
There are over 4,000 miles of water mains in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg system.
Repairs that are causing property damage, water outages, or traffic problems are repaired first. Smaller leaks may take more than 12 weeks to be repaired.
You Can Help
If you see or suspect a water leak or sewer spill, please call 311 or 704-336-7600.
Utilities will dispatch a service technician to evaluate the problem as soon as possible. If a leak exists on a public water pipe, then a work order will be created and a crew dispatched as soon as possible.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.