BACKGROUND

Charlotte Water, the largest water and wastewater utility provider in the Carolinas, received an Administrative Order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), mandating the reduction of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) occurring throughout the sewer collection system. SSOs numbered 419 at the beginning of the order in FY2007, corresponding to 10.8 overflows per 100 miles of pipe.

More than a million customers are served by Charlotte Water in the City of Charlotte and greater Mecklenburg County. The utility’s collection system includes 4,562 miles of wastewater mains, 78 lift stations, and seven wastewater treatment plants that process more than 85 million gallons of water per day.

SUMMARY

Charlotte Water has successfully leveraged smart sewer technology to address their specific infrastructure needs. In addition to a better overall understanding of their system, they have prevented sanitary sewer overflows and enhanced its cleaning program, in turn optimizing resources and preserving utility assets and capital investment funds.

The integration of smart sewer technology has allowed improved visualization of site conditions leading to a more proactive versus reactive decision-making process. These 24/7/365 ‘eyes and ears’ of the sewer system have brought peace of mind knowing sewers are being monitored, data is automatically analyzed and plenty of advance notice is provided to assist operators in protecting public health.

With more than 450 units currently installed in targeted creek basins to monitor trends, Charlotte Water will continue protecting their collection system by expanding remote monitoring to additional basins over the coming years to preserve assets, reduce SSOs and maximize cleaning efficiency.

Interested in finding out how our SmartCover solutions can work for you? Reach out to sales@smartcoversystems.com or call (855) 291-1980.