Plumber InMint Hill

Why one side of town has sewer and the other has septic

Gravity sewer follows creeks. West of Matthews-Mint Hill Road and south of Wilgrove-Mint Hill Road, lines along Irvins Creek and upper McAlpine Creek carry wastewater on the Catawba side. East and north of those roads the land falls toward Clear, Duck, Goose and Stevens creeks in the Rocky River basin. Moving water across the ridge takes pump stations and falls under state interbasin transfer limits.

The Goose Creek basin adds another constraint. It is home to the Carolina heelsplitter, a federally endangered mussel, which the town's plan says has kept that area less developed. Newer sewers have been built along Stevens and Goose creeks, with a pump station sending the flow back over the ridge. Where no main has reached your road, a septic system is the norm, and the plan notes that homes on half-acre lots or larger are common.

Septic tanks, wells and where the plumber's work ends

On a septic property the plumbing runs from your fixtures to the tank inlet. A clog in that stretch is cleared the same way as one in a sewered house. Running a sewer camera inspection down the line tells you if the stoppage is in the pipe or at a full tank. Pumping the tank and repairing the drain field are jobs for a septic contractor. Mecklenburg County Groundwater and Wastewater Services issues septic and well permits and keeps the records, which you can search online.

Private wells raise their own questions. The county offers well water sampling on request, and the results tell you what, if anything, needs treating. Alpha Drain installs water filtration, including reverse osmosis systems under the kitchen sink. A well also means a pump and a pressure tank between the ground and your faucets, so a pressure drop on a well is a different problem from one on city water and is worth a plumbing inspection.

From 1970s Farmwood to 2000s Brighton Park

Mint Hill took its current charter in 1971, and the housing followed. Census estimates show 35 percent of units built in the 1970s and 1980s, plus 22 percent in the 2000s. Farmwood is largely a 1970s neighborhood. Farmwood East came in the 1990s, Brighton Park started around 2004, and Cheval and Summerwood are newer still.

A 1970s house was typically built with cast iron or early plastic drains and copper water lines, and houses from 1978 into the mid-1990s may have polybutylene. After fifty years, cast iron under a slab or crawlspace is often scaled and original shutoff valves often no longer turn. The 2000s homes are on PVC and PEX, and their first big plumbing expense tends to be the water heater. Our plumbing repair work carries a 1-year warranty on labor.

• 1970s: Farmwood
• 1990s: Farmwood East
• 2000s: Brighton Park
• Newer: Cheval, Summerwood

Large lots, long pipe runs and irrigation backflow

Half-acre and larger lots put distance between the house and the street. On Charlotte Water service, everything from the meter to the house is your pipe, and on a deep lot that is a long buried run. Most high water bills trace back to a leak in private plumbing, the utility reports. If the meter keeps turning with every tap closed, leak detection narrows down the spot before anyone digs.

Larger yards often have irrigation. A sprinkler system fed by public water needs a backflow assembly, and an approved tester has to check it every year and file the results. Irrigation assemblies installed since March 24, 2003 have to be the reduced pressure (RP) type. Our backflow testing is certified and priced at $199 per assembly. With the 30-Day Compliance Guarantee, your test takes place within 30 days.

Mint Hill neighborhoods we serve

Downtown, Farmwood, Farmwood East, Brighton Park, Cheval, Summerwood, Olde Sycamore, Ashe Plantation, Telfair, Oxfordshire, Lawyers Station, Apple Creek, Danbrooke Park, Mintwood Estates, and the streets in between.

Mint Hill ZIP codes we serve: 28227.