CHARLOTTE WATER
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MEETING
August 20, 2015
Charlotte Water Advisory Committee met Thursday, August 20, 2015, 2:30 pm at 4222
Westmont Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Members Present:
Jim Duke, Pride Patton, Leslie Jones, Ron Charbonneau, Frank McMahan
Members Absent:
Ralph Messera
Staff Present:
Barry Gullet
Jennifer Frost
Barry Shearin
Chad Howell
Steve Miller
Carl Wilson
Regina Cousar
Karen Weatherly
Director
Assistant to Director
Deputy Director
Business Manager
Customer Service Manager
Chief Engineer
Continuous Improvement Officer
City Attorney
Safety Minute
Unsafe Work Practices
Minutes
A motion was made by Leslie Jones, and seconded by Ron Charbonneau, to approve the July
2015 Minutes. Motion was approved.
RFP Update
Charlotte Water staff held four Demonstration Days for the Water Meter Upgrade Project RFP in the
month of July. This summit allowed the Advisory Committee and City stakeholders an opportunity to
view the products alongside Charlotte Water staff. Currently, staff are debriefing evaluation team
members to narrow to a short list for the final phase of the selection process. Terms and conditions from
the providers will be incorporated in the final analysis.
Drinking Water Quality/ Disinfection by-products
During a recent quarterly water sampling, Charlotte Water staff detected elevated levels of disinfection
by-products known as Trihalomethanes (THMs) in some locations, but advises that the water is safe to
use for drinking, cooking, bathing and swimming as it meets federal Safe Drinking Water Act
requirements. Charlotte Water has and will continue to emphasize that our drinking water is in
compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe Drinking Water and N.C.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) requirements. Implementations of proactive
measures include decreasing the volume of water stored in elevated water tanks, strategically flushing
water through hydrants, optimizing existing treatment processes within the plants and converting to a
different water treatment process that lowers the pH of drinking water could reduce THM formation by
up to 40 percent.
Drought Status and Forecast
Regional conditions are not improving and we continue to be in Stage 1 of the Catawba-Wateree Low
Inflow Protocol (CWLIP). The US Drought Monitor Index and teh CWLIP have some similarities as
indicators of the severity of drought conditions, but were created with different objectives. The objectives
of the US Drought Monitor Index are to describe current climatic and environmental conditions. The
objective of the CWLIP is to provide a coordinated action plan to manage the water supply in our region
during periods of drought. One of the factors used by the CWLIP is the US Drought Monitor Index. The
other CWLIP criteria are lake storage levels, stream flows and groundwater levels. Drinking water
quality regulations have changed since the last drought in 2007 and require more flushing of the water
system to maintain quality levels. Even though we are in drought, Charlotte will continue to flush
hydrants to maintain a fresh water supply in the distribution system to comply with water quality
regulations.
Financial Update
Charlotte Water refinanced about $459M of outstanding revenue bonds. As part of the process, Charlotte
the AAA bond rating was confirmed by all three of the major credit rating agencies. The refinancing will
result in significant annual savings to Charlotte Water customers.
Revenue from water sales and capacity fees is trending upwards of projections. Expenses are currently
less than projected.
Meeting Adjourned 3:50
TGN