Watering ban south of I-85

Mecklenburg rules will be put in place this weekend to keep pressure up.

CATHERINE CARLOCK and STEVE LYTTLE

ccarlock@charlotteobserver.com; slyttle@charlotteobserver.com

More than half of Mecklenburg County faces tightened mandatory water restrictions beginning this weekend due to repairs on a 54-inch water main in south Charlotte.

All Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility customers south of Interstate 85 are prohibited from lawn watering, car washing, and pool or fountain filling beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. These limitations are already in place during weekdays because of the drought. The area covered by the tighter restrictions stretches from uptown and UNCC all the way to south Charlotte.

Officials enacted the new rules because they fear too much residential water use could bring Charlotte's water pressure to a dangerous low. The restrictions will be in place until further notice.

The Providence Road water main, near Briar Creek, burst more than a week ago. Officials said Thursday that the break was the likely cause of the multiple other leaks this week.

Pressure on the main line was reduced for repairs and increased in other parts of the system to keep water flowing into Charlotte's taps. The increased pressure put stress on weaker pipes, inducing other leaks and breaks.

"We're hoping that our call for people to eliminate lawn watering will help the problem," Maeneen Klein, water conservation manager for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities, said in an interview this morning on WBT Radio.

One day per week lawn watering OK starting Saturday, April 5 2008

Recent Spike in Home Break-ins: Similar Suspects, Methods
 
January 24, 2008

CMPD Burglary detectives are actively investigating a recent rash of residential burglaries that have similar suspect descriptions and use similar methods. 
 
"While citywide, burglaries were down nearly 5% last year compared to 2006, we have seen an increase in the past couple of weeks," says Captain David Poston, who leads CMPD's Property Crimes Unit. "People feel especially violated when someone has broken in to their home and stolen their personal belongings. It is a major priority for us to catch the people who are responsible."
 
Over the past month, detectives have seen a pattern to some reports of burglaries and are pursuing leads to identify and arrest the thieves. In fact, Hickory Grove division officers made arrests in a case today (20080124132000) that fit the pattern of some other recent burglaries. Detectives are interviewing those suspects and investigating to determine whether they are connected to any other crimes. The suspects’ names will be released once they have been processed.   
 
Four break-ins yesterday (January 23, 2007) in the North part of the county had suspect descriptions and methodology similar to some burglaries that occurred earlier in the month in the South Division. To date, 17 break-ins this year in various parts of the city have had the similar suspect and methodology descriptions.
 
Patterns of Recent Burglaries

Suspect descriptions: when suspect descriptions are available, witnesses report seeing 3-4 Black males, ages 18-25, most with dreadlocks.
 
Suspect vehicles: the thieves are driving late-model sedans or SUVs that are stolen or rented.
 
Anatomy of these break-ins

Most are occurring during the day, although there is no apparent pattern to the time or day of the week.
 
The suspects are knocking on doors to make sure no one is at home before entering the home, usually by going around to the back door and kicking it in.
 
There have been some reports of the suspects entering through front doors when the house design makes that entrance less visible from the street.
 
In some cases, when residents did not respond to the knock on the door, the suspects broke in, apparently thinking no one was home.  When the suspects saw someone was home, they fled, often without taking anything from the residence.
 
What’s Being Stolen:  these thieves are targeting homes with plasma televisions and/or other high-end electronics or computers easily visible through a downstairs window.
 
CMPD detectives are following up on a number of leads and officers throughout the patrol divisions are covering hotspots and working with neighborhoods residents. In addition to providing information about cases and safety information, they are teaching prevention initiatives and encouraging residents to actively participate in—or start—a community crime watch program.
 
Take Steps to Reduce Risks

There are a number of actions citizens can take to reduce risks of being a victim of these burglars:

· Be on the lookout for and call 911 to report suspicious persons in your area. Be especially sensitive to those who fit the descriptions in these similar cases.

· When you are home and someone knocks on your door, let them know you are home. If a visitor is unexpected, say, “Please leave. I am calling the police.” If their visit to you is legitimate, they will provide more explanation. If they were checking to make sure the house is empty, they will leave.

from: http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Utilities/WaterSmart/Mandatory+Water+Restrictions.htm

Mecklenburg County (including Charlotte, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Huntersville, Davidson, and Cornelius) is now under Mandatory Water Restrictions. 

What's Restricted?

Effective at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, September 26, the amended water use restrictions in Mecklenburg are as follows:

*  Lawn watering and the operation of any sprinkler system are prohibited at all times.

*  The operation of ornamental fountains (without fish) is not allowed.

*  Residential car washing and refilling of swimming pools is not allowed (topping off is still OK).

What is the Penalty if I am Caught Watering My Lawn? Penalties are based on meter size. For most residential customers (1.5 inch meter or smaller) the penalty for first offense is $100, second is $200, subsequent offenses $300 each. For water meters larger than 1.5 inches (typically commercial) the penalty for first offense is $200, second is $400, subsequent offenses are $600 each. Possibility of loss of service for repeat violators. Per City Ordinance, "repeat" at this stage of mandatory qualifies as five violations or more.

Those penalized will receive a door hanger for occupant, a letter mailed to account holder and civil penalty will appear on their bill.

We have been in the area checking along with CMUD and have found a leak in a 10" main. That leak has been repaired and we're waiting to see if the pressure improves.

We carry a minimum of 500 gallons of water on each truck and we also have tankers to assist when problems are identified. We automatically assign these tankers to all fire calls in that area to supplement the water supply. We are more concerned with the volume of water than pressure. All of our fire trucks have pumps to provide the adequate pressures needed for all hose streams.

In addition we have assigned two of Charlotte Fire Department tankers along with Steele Creek Volunteer Fire Department's Tankers on all fire calls.