Charlotte Water
Charlotte and greater Mecklenburg County, including Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Huntersville, Davidson, Cornelius, and other Charlotte Water service areas
Population reference
Estimated population served 1,206,285 in Mecklenburg County; Charlotte Water is the largest public water and wastewater utility in the Carolinas and serves more than one million customers
Billing detail
Broad public detail found
Official destination
Open provider website ↗Provider-specific findings
Billing and account research from public material
Provider-specific research notes are displayed separately from fields that contain only an unavailable-information marker. Read qualifiers in each note and verify current account terms with the provider.
- Billing frequency
- Monthly. Charlotte Water’s payment FAQs identify the account number on the monthly bill, and field crews read the more than 285,000 meters each month before usage is downloaded, reviewed, and used to generate the bill.
- Rate structure
- Increasing block residential tiers in CCF, plus fixed monthly water and sewer fees and meter-size availability fees. Current FY27 rates effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 are water Tier 1 for 1–4 CCF at $2.11/CCF, Tier 2 for 5–8 CCF at $2.73/CCF, Tier 3 for 9–16 CCF at $6.30/CCF, and Tier 4 above 16 CCF at $11.93/CCF. Sewer is $6.88/CCF of water used up to 16 CCF. The standard 5/8-inch connection has $6.75 monthly water and sewer fixed fees, $1.53 water availability, and $11.00 sewer availability. Mandatory Stage 2 water restrictions are active as of May 15, 2026.
- Residential cost reference
- At 5,000–7,000 gallons, usage is approximately 6.68–9.36 CCF. Applying the FY27 rates to a standard 5/8-inch residential account gives an estimated combined water-and-sewer bill of approximately $91–$118 before stormwater, taxes, special charges, or prorated service days. Charlotte Water’s rate page states that the average 7-CCF customer pays $80.35 per month excluding stormwater; actual totals vary by the exact billing calculation, fixed/availability fees, and whether the property has a different connection size or separate irrigation service.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Charlotte Water bills sewer usage from metered water consumption, with the FY27 residential sewer rate of $6.88 per CCF up to 16 CCF. Unlike utilities that use a winter average, the current Charlotte schedule does not publish a residential sewer cap for ordinary metered homes; sewer is calculated from the water used, while unmetered sewer customers receive a monthly flat-rate amount based on an average 7 CCF multiplied by the commercial sewer rate plus the sewer fixed and availability fees. Water used for irrigation or pool filling can still create sewer charges under the applicable rules. Customers with a private leak should submit the leak-adjustment documentation so eligible excess sewer usage can be reviewed.
- Meter reading
- Charlotte Water has a dedicated field team that reads more than 285,000 water meters every month. The reading data is downloaded, reviewed, and used to generate the monthly bill; current customer education describes a monthly manual/field-reading process rather than universal hourly AMI. Customers can compare the meter with the statement and request a re-read or high-bill investigation. Charlotte’s FY27 connection-fee schedule includes ultrasonic meter categories for new commercial and development work, but that does not establish that all residential meters are already ultrasonic or AMI-enabled.
- New-account deposit
- The current FY27 deposit schedule lists a 5/8-inch single-family/duplex residence deposit of $0; the table lists $25 for a 1-inch residential connection, $25 for 1-1/2 inches, $50 for 2 inches, $75 for 3 inches, and $100 for 4-inch and larger connections. Multifamily and commercial categories generally carry deposits from $7 to $100 depending on customer type and meter size. The schedule notes that deposits do not apply to single-family residential customers in the ordinary domestic category, so customers should confirm the exact meter classification. A separate new-service charge is placed on the first bill, and a good-credit waiver or refund schedule is not stated on the current public residential pages.
- Activation or transfer fee
- Charlotte Water requires customers to call 311 or 704-336-7600 for a move-in, move-out, or name/service change and provide a Social Security number or employer tax ID for identity verification. The City’s public FAQ states that a new-service charge is applied to the first bill, but does not publish one universal ordinary activation or transfer amount. New connections carry substantial FY27 infrastructure charges, including a 5/8-inch domestic water connection fee of $4,407, $1,453 water system-development fee, and $5,066 sewer system-development fee, plus a $208 5/8-inch meter charge; those construction charges are separate from ordinary account transfer. The City’s goal is to turn on service within 24–48 hours when the technician finds no active flow that could flood the property.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
North Carolina
44%
records with any overview detail
National index
50%
records with any overview detail
Coverage measures what this directory documented. It does not measure service quality, affordability, or regulatory compliance.
Research record
Broad public detail found
7 of 7 fields in this section contain provider-specific public detail in dataset August 1, 2026.
Documented
100%
Primary verification routes
- Charlotte Water public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System ↗
Federal background on public water-system records and their limitations.