Drought

Current Drought Status: As of November 20th, 2017, drought warning restrictions put in place on October 11th, 2017 are NO LONGER in effect for the City of Charlottesville.

WaterSense reminder that when in drought to replace fixtures with high performing models

  1. Voluntary Drought Watch
  2. Drought Warning
  3. Drought Emergency

This is amended from Charlottesville City Code 31-125 (PDF)

Voluntary Drought Watch

  • Customers are asked to voluntarily conserve water when they can.  
  • Watering of established outside shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, home gardens, or any other established vegetation, shall only be conducted between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. 

Enforcement

The above restrictions shall be enforced upon their being printed in any newspaper of general circulation in the City of Charlottesville, or broadcast upon any radio or television station serving the City of Charlottesville.  

Duration

Drought warning stage restrictions shall remain in full force and effect until city council determines that a water emergency in the City of Charlottesville no longer exists. Drought emergency stage restrictions shall remain in full force and effect until such time as the Executive Director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority certifies in writing to the Director of Public Works of the City of Charlottesville that a drought emergency stage no longer exists.  

Appeals

The City Manager shall establish an appeals procedure to review customer applications for exemptions from drought restrictions on a case by case basis and, if warranted, to make equitable adjustments to such provisions. The City Manager shall also be empowered to establish regulations governing the granting of temporary exemptions applicable to all or some of the uses of the water supply set forth in the drought restrictions. The City Manager or designee shall, in deciding applications, balance economic and other hardships to the applicant resulting from the imposition of water use restrictions or allocations against the individual and cumulative impacts to the water supply resulting from the granting of exemptions.  

Violations & Appeals

Any person who violates any provision of the drought restrictions shall be subject to the following penalties: 

  1. For the first offense, violators shall receive a written warning delivered in person or posted at the site of the violation by a representative of the City of Charlottesville Department of Public Works.
  2. For the second offense, violators shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500.00), which penalty shall be added to the violator’s next city water bill;
  3. For the third offense, violators shall be fined one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), which penalty shall be added to the violator’s next city water bill;
  4. For the fourth and each subsequent offense, the violator shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.
  5. Each violation by a person shall be counted as a separate violation by that person, irrespective of the location at which the violation occurs. 

In addition, the Public Works director is hereby authorized to terminate the water service, for the duration of the emergency, to any person convicted of such violation. Any person assessed a penalty pursuant to any penalties mentioned above shall have the right to challenge the assessment by invoking the appeals procedure established pursuant. The imposition of the penalty may be waived if it is determined that the violation occurred due to no fault of the person assessed the penalty.

 To submit an appeal please send a letter with information regarding water usage needs, duration, time, location, and reasoning to:

Water Conservation
ATTN: Drought Restriction Appeal
305 4th Street NW
Charlottesville, VA 22903

Or Contact us by filling out this form.

Additional Information