FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 2^nd, 2026

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA), and Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority (RWSA) are celebrating the Fix a Leak campaign by helping and encouraging our community to save water by FINDING and FIXING THOSE LEAKS!

Fix a Leak Week, (March 16^th – 22^nd) is a national campaign sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense program, which seeks to inform the public on how to identify and fix leaks. By making fixes, Americans put a stop to the more than 1 trillion gallons of water being wasted from household leaks each year.

This year we are extending Fix a Leak Week for the entire month of March, and we are focusing on finding and fixing water leaks in your home with the help of a Scavenger Hunt. The Fix a Leak Scavenger Hunt helps you get to know your water fixtures and make sure that none are leaking in the place you live. Complete the Fix A Leak Scavenger Hunt Worksheet (PDF) and submit (electronically, drop off, or by mail) by April 13^th to be entered to win a special prize (prizes eligible to City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents only).

Partners will also be hosting and participating in several free events, we hope to see you at one of these in March:

• Cville Green Drinks: March 11^th, 5:30 – 7:00PM at Firefly Restaurant
• Catch My Drip - Climate Café on Water Resources: March 13^th, 9:30 – 11:00am at the Bradbury
• Pop-up Fix a Leak Event: March 17^th, 11am – 1pm at Home Depot

For Fix a Leak month, we want to remind the community to help save water and keep our water supply sustainable. Three steps you can do this spring to save water are to check, twist, and replace:

• CHECK for leaks. Look and listen for running toilets and dripping faucets, shower heads, sprinklers, spigots, and other fixtures.  
• TWIST and tighten hose and pipe connections. To save water in your bathroom without a noticeable difference in flow, twist on a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator.
• REPLACE the fixture if necessary. Look for WaterSense labeled models.  These models are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than standard models. 

Lastly, we want to ask everyone to take 10 minutes to check their toilet for leaks. Some running toilets can be silent and can be a huge water waster. Charlottesville residents can pick up toilet leak detection dye tablets and a universal toilet flapper at the Office of Utility Billing. To check if your toilet is leaking:

1. Drop a toilet leak detection dye tablet or 3 drops of food coloring into your toilet’s top tank and wait 10 minutes.
2. If the dye shows up in the toilet bowl, you have a leak!
3. Don’t forget to flush the toilet afterwards to remove any leftover dye.
4. If your toilet is running, check out some next steps on our website including picking up a free universal toilet flapper or our $150 WaterSense toilet rebate if you need to replace your toilet.

“Leaks can account for nearly 10,000 gallons of water in an average home every year—the amount of water it takes to wash 300 loads of laundry,” said Jill Greiner, the City of Charlottesville’s Water Efficiency Program Coordinator. “As an EPA WaterSense partner, we encourage the community to find and fix leaks with the help of our scavenger hunt to save water in our community.”

More information about the Fix a Leak campaign, the Fix a Leak Scavenger Hunt Worksheet, and how to find and fix water leaks: www.charlottesville.gov/FixALeak

Media Contact
 Jill Greiner
 Water Efficiency Program Coordinator
 City of Charlottesville
 434-970-3877
 greinerj@charlottesville.gov