Water, Sewer & Reuse Common Questions

Call the E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant at 919-996-2870. Laboratory personnel will collect a water sample for analysis.

Between 7:30 am and 4:00 pm

• call the Public Utilities Operations Division at 919-250-2737

After 4:00pm

• call the after-hours emergency number at 919-829-1930

Note: The City of Raleigh is responsible for breaks in water and sewer mains in the street, but the property owner is responsible for breaks on private property.

For all questions about your water bill, call Utility Billing Customer Service at 919-890-3245.

If your water bill is current, there may be utility work in your area that required cutting off water for a period of time.

Call the Public Utilities Operations Division at 919-250-2737 to see if there is utility work in your area.

If there could be a problem with your water bill, call Utility Billing Customer Service at 919-890-3245.

The City of Raleigh measures water consumption in CCFs.

CCF stands for one hundred cubic feet. One CCF equals 748 gallons.

Multiply the consumption number on your water bill by 748 to convert your water consumption to gallons or use our Water Conversion Calculator

It is that time of year again to start filling up swimming pools. Swimming pools may be filled by two methods.

The first method is to use your residential water connection. You will be charged for water and sewer services since the water would go through your meter. No adjustments will be made for the sewer portion of these charges.
The second method is to rent a water hydrant. There is a $500 refundable deposit with a $10 per day associated fee. For requirements and information regarding renting a hydrant, please call Meter Operations at 919-250-2742.

Please remember that all water used from the Public Utilities system must be metered except in the case of fire emergencies. Water used from the City's tap system without metering is a violation of the City Code and can result in the fine of a maximum of $500.00/day plus water usage.

Reuse water, sometimes called reclaimed water, recycled water, or non-potable water, is wastewater that is highly treated and can be re-used instead of being discharged to a waterway.

Although not suitable for human, pet or livestock consumption, there are many viable uses for reuse water.

• Watering residential lawns and flower beds, golf courses, cemeteries, parks, school grounds, industrial or commercial landscapes, and highway medians
• Decorative ponds and fountains with no drain to surface waters or storm drains
• Sewer line flushing
• Cooling towers
• Pesticide and Fertilizer application
• Concrete Mixing
• Street Sweeping (not washing)
• Roadway pretreatment (snow/ice)
• Power/Vehicle Washing (w/ dual disinfection)
• Directional boring
• Construction site soil compaction, dust control, and asphalt reclamation
• Hydroseeding

• Drinking water for humans, pets or livestock
• Irrigation of crops for human consumption
• Filling swimming pools, hot-tubs, or similar use
• General residential indoor use
• Filling ponds used for fishing, swimming or other human uses
• In a manner that permits runoff from the site
• Bulk reuse water cannot be used within: 100 feet of drinking water wells, 10 feet from non-drinking wells, 25 feet from all other surface waters and swimming pools

Drinking water is a limited resource and is expensive to produce; the rapid growth and development in the Raleigh service area has put extreme demands on our raw water supplies.

Using reuse water reduces the amount of water needed from these supplies and because bulk reuse water can be used during all stages of water restrictions.

To ensure public safety, State law (North Carolina Administrative Code Title 15A, Subchapter 2H, Section .0200) regulates all uses of reuse water.

The following are specific requirements of the regulations:

• The public must be notified of the use of reuse water and that reuse water is not intended for drinking.
• This is accomplished by placing signs in areas where bulk reuse water is used
• Bulk reuse water is treated to more stringent standards than wastewater discharged to waterways.
• Bulk reuse water quality is monitored continuously.
• All City of Raleigh bulk reuse water customers are trained and approved by City of Raleigh staff
• All tanks and tanker trucks used for transport of City of Raleigh bulk reuse water are inspected and approved by City of Raleigh staff

• Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant at 8500 Battle Bridge Road
• E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant at 10301 Falls of Neuse Road
• Little Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant at 1419 Hwy 39 Zebulon (currently only for City equipment for sewer line flushing)
• Smith Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant at 8505 Ligon Mill Road Wake Forest (permitting in process)