Charlotte Water will be installing a new sanitary sewer to provide wastewater service for future development within the McAlpine Creek area and adjacent Clear Creek Basin area. The Upper McAlpine Creek Sanitary Sewer Project will construct a new 30" sewer pipe along a tributary of McAlpine Creek between Lawyers Road and Albemarle Road. The Upper McAlpine Creek Sanitary Sewer Project is just upstream of the McAlpine Creek Relief Sewer Phase 4 Project.

Charlotte Water hired consultants to evaluate the physical condition of the existing sewer system and construct a new sewer pipe to provide additional capacity for the McAlpine Creek area and adjacent Clear Creek Basin area. During the initial study and design phases of the Project, surveyors, engineers, and related personnel worked along the stream in the project area and examined the existing sewer pipes and manholes. Surveying, design and permitting work for the project has concluded and construction will begin in March 2021. Construction is slated to conclude in early 2023.

Project Area

The project area extends along a tributary of McAlpine Creek from just north of Lawyer Road to just south of Albemarle Road.

The blue line that is highlighted in green in the figure above shows the location of the existing gravity sewer.  

As our area continues to grow and the population increases, we need to increase our capacity for transporting wastewater. The Upper McAlpine Creek Sanitary Sewer Project is intended to help Charlotte Water meet the increasing wastewater needs of our growing communities. This Project represents Charlotte Water's continued implementation of new pipes and upsizing existing pipes to increase our wastewater system's capacity. 

The purpose of the Upper McAlpine Creek Sanitary Sewer Project is to increase the capacity of the existing gravity sewer system that currently provides wastewater service for the McAlpine Creek and Clear Creek Basins. The existing gravity sewer system in the project area includes wastewater pipes that range from 8-inch to 15-inch in diameter size. This project will install a new pipe parallel to the existing gravity sewer system. The project area extends along a tributary of McAlpine Creek from Lawyers Road to just south of Albemarle Road. 

What We Have Done

Construction began in early 2021, which includes drilling and rock removal and the installation of the new 30" sewer pipe and manholes. Construction is slated to conclude in early 2023.

Our project team performed surveying, field studies, and smoke testing throughout 2019 and 2020.

• Surveying: Survey crews located existing above-ground features, determined existing ground elevations, and mapped out existing property boundaries and easements.
• Smoke Testing: Crews blew a non-toxic smoke into wastewater pipes to identify potential pipe cracks (where the smoke escapes). During smoke testing, our Project Team identified some cracks in the wastewater pipes, which will need to be repaired. We will be reaching out to individual Property Owners about specific repairs that may impact their properties.
• Geotechnical Study: Subcontractors conducted subsurface investigations to determine the location of existing utilities as well as below-grade soil and rock conditions along the pipe alignment.
• CCTV Study: A testing company placed a camera into the existing gravity sewer to record the conditions inside the pipe. The pipe was accessed through the existing manholes that are along the sewer.

Project Schedule

Summer 2019 – 2020:

• Conducted surveying, smoke testing, CCTV study and geotechnical study.

Winter 2019:

• Performed field review of lower McAlpine Sewer in winter 2019.

2020:

• Made contact to all properties that required an easement.

Early 2021:

• Construction began in early 2021.

Late 2021 - 2022:

• Construction schedules are subject to change, due to weather and other conditions.

Early 2023:

•       Project Completion.
  

Charlotte Water will keep residents updated at each stage of the Project.  

$20,000,000