Water service authority puts Albemarle, Charlottesville under Drought Watch

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority has declared a Drought Watch for the Albemarle/Charlottesville area, putting into motion efforts to increase public awareness about the need to conserve drinking water.

Public drinking water customers are encouraged to implement voluntary conservation measures, including limiting the watering of outside shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, home vegetable gardens, or any other vegetation to between the hours of 9 p.m. and 10 a.m., and only as necessary to preserve plant life.

“We currently have an adequate public drinking water supply for our community, as our reservoirs are over 90 percent full. However, with several months of hot and dry weather ahead of us, we encourage public water users to conserve as much as possible,” RWSA Executive Director Bill Mawyer said.

Tips on water conservation are available on www.serviceauthority.org, www.charlottesville.org, and www.rivanna.org.