Albemarle County's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to make violating state water restrictions a Class 3 misdemeanor.
The decision comes after new restrictions were issued August 30 to extend the existing measures to limit private well-water users, affecting approximately half the residents in Albemarle County.
In the greater Charlottesville community, residents are being asked to run dishwashers and washing machines with full loads, and not to fill swimming pools or water lawns unless they are recently renovated or new.
Restrictions on private well users, who are more likely to live farther away from town, are enforced by Albemarle County local government, Albemarle County spokeswoman Lee Catlin said.
Although restrictions were enacted on the county, city and state levels, Catlin said Charlottesville residents will not be cited and fined on multiple levels.
Gov. Mark R. Warner enacted statewide water restrictions last month, following four years of unusually light rainfall in Virginia.
They are to be enforced by state authorities only if local enforcement is ineffective, according to Warner's Web site.
As a result of these statewide restrictions, watering of established grassy areas like the Lawn no longer is permitted, and the fountain outside the Rotunda remains shut off.
Local authorities are asking all area residents to curtail their water usage, in particular by taking shorter showers.
The University's athletic fields and Scott Stadium are exempt from the restrictions, in order to protect athletes, Director of Utilities Cheryl Gomez said.
"Accidents and injuries go up significantly on hard surfaces," she added.
While responding to these concerns, the University still is seeking to actively curtail its water usage, pulling storm-water out of University storage to water some of the fields, Gomez said.
The fields currently in use, such as Scott Stadium and Kl
ckner Stadium, are being watered only twice a week between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m., she added.
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