News briefs

Concord

Sewer line repairs: The city of Concord began refurbishing old sewer mains in the city last week.

The project, which is expected to take eight weeks, will involve 10,889 feet of pipe in various locations.

Affected residents will be informed at least 24 hours in advance through the distribution of door hangers or the Connect-CTY calling system. Residents will be asked to limit water use during the project.

Details: 704-920-5353.

Cabarrus County

Retroactive diplomas: Some former Cabarrus County Schools students may be eligible to receive their high school diploma as the result of a law passed by the N.C. General Assembly that discontinues the requirement that students pass the N.C. Competency and Computer Skills Tests before receiving a diploma.

Students who were enrolled in a Cabarrus County Schools graduating class from 1981 to 2009 and who met all state and local board requirements for a diploma except for passing one or both of the competency tests can petition the school system for a diploma.

Former students should contact the high school they attended so that school personnel can ensure that they earned enough credits required for graduation at the time that their diploma was withheld because of an insufficient score on competency or computer skills test.

Retroactive diplomas will be issued through July 2014.

Cabarrus County

Catawba River settlement: The Concord and Kannapolis city councils approved a settlement last week to limit the amount of water withdrawn from the Catawba River during droughts.

The cities have agreed to limit their water withdrawals to 6- to 9-million gallons a day, down from up to 10 million gallons a day, during droughts.

The cities also agreed to several water conservation measures, such as installing high-efficiency toilets and other environmentally-friendly fixtures in city facilities and promoting water efficiency requirements and regulations for new developments.