A drought warning and water use regulations will persist in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville, as the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority announced Monday it will continue restrictions because of persistent drought conditions in the area.
The restrictions include limits on outdoor watering, such as watering lawns and washing paved surfaces, said Thomas Frederick, executive director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority.
Frederick added that restaurants are asked not to serve water unless a patron specifically requests it.
Charlottesville communications director Ric Barrick said violating the water restrictions is a Class I misdemeanor, but added that Charlottesville residents have been cooperative.
"The biggest drought we've seen in a long time is 2002 and that was when we had a drought emergency," Barrick said, adding that residents then were forced to conserve water by limiting showers and not flushing toilets. He said he believes this previous situation has made residents more willing to cooperate with current restrictions, noting that this situation is considered a drought warning, not a drought emergency.
Frederick said the current warning was initially issued Aug. 15 in response to falling water levels at local reservoirs.
"When reservoirs are dropping we have a risk assessment computer program that assists us in forecasting the possibility of running short on water," Frederick said.
Frederick said it is difficult to measure exactly how much rain would be required to lift the drought warning, but said a "tropical rain event would probably go a long way toward helping us lift the restrictions."
Barrick said the City of Charlottesville would like to educate students who may have never dealt with such measures about the importance of following the restrictions.
"We think there are a lot of students who went straight from living at home to living alone," Barrick said. "We're finding that to get the cooperation we need on the students' side ... we need to offer a little bit more public education."
Barrick added that the city would like to assist the University in implementing any precautions it may choose to take.
University Environmental Compliance Manager Jeff Sitler said the University is taking some measures to reduce water consumption, noting restrictions now in place at the Aquatic & Fitness Center.
"There are signs in the AFC asking people to restrict the length of their showers to three minutes," he said.
In a Sept. 12 interview, Sitler noted that University officials "are not watering anything unless it absolutely needs to be watered to survive, and we are working to notify people to limit water use"
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