Belmont council votes to buy 500,000 gallons‑per‑day of Charlotte Water capacity and OKs pump‑station design

Belmont City Council voted unanimously on July 20 to request an additional 500,000 gallons‑per‑day (gpd) of wastewater treatment capacity from Charlotte Water and to authorize Charlotte Water to continue design work on pump and conveyance infrastructure that would allow Belmont to transmit flow to Charlotte for treatment.

Public works director Jonathan Golsan told the council that Belmont’s local plant is permitted for 5,000,000 gpd but has seen deferred maintenance and that the original interlocal agreement with Charlotte Water (executed Nov. 7, 2019) supplied 3,000,000 gpd with options to buy capacity in 100,000‑gpd increments. Golsan said recent negotiations secured an extra 300,000 gpd at no direct cost to Belmont, and staff recommended buying a further 500,000 gpd now — raising Belmont’s committed allocation to 3,800,000 gpd — so the city can approve sewer permits for projects currently under review.

The council heard detailed flow figures from staff: Belmont’s 2024 average effluent was about 1,998,000 gpd; projects under construction…