Imagine A Day Without Water

Could you go a day without water? No water to drink or use to make food. No water to shower, flush the toilet, or brush your teeth. Firefighters couldn’t put out fires, pools would be closed, and farmers couldn’t water their crops.

The City of Charlottesville, the Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA), and Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority (RWSA) work together each year to organize the “Imagine a Day without Water” campaign to educate and inspire the community about the value and importance of water that encourages water conservation in our everyday lives.

This national campaign consisted of a public awareness event as well as an art contest inviting students from throughout the City and County to illustrate how they value water focusing on a new theme each year. Judges from the City, ACSA, and RWSA evaluated the artwork for creativity, originality, and incorporation of the contest’s challenge question. Students from Charlottesville and Albemarle County public, private, and home schools participate, and one winner is chosen from each of the grade divisions. In addition, top entries are made available to the public to view online and vote for a favorite art poster. Winners receive a gift card, water conservation goodie bag, and have their artwork displayed around Charlottesville.

You can learn more about the Value of Water Coalition and the National Imagine a Day without Water Campaign on their website.

2020’s Imagine a Day without Water will be October 21st, 2020

2019 Imagine a Day without Water Art Contest Winners

The City of Charlottesville, the Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA), and Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority (RWSA) participated in their fifth annual “Imagine a Day without Water” campaign to educate and inspire the community about the value and importance of water that encourages water conservation in our everyday lives.

This national campaign consisted of a public awareness event as well as an art contest inviting students from throughout the City and County to illustrate how they “Only Use What You Need”. Judges from the City, ACSA, and RWSA evaluated the artwork for creativity, originality, and incorporation of the contest’s challenge question. Of the over 300 poster entries received from students in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, one winner was chosen from each of four grade divisions. In addition, the top 40 entries were available to the public to view online and vote for a favorite art poster; with over 1895 online votes, a fan favorite was selected. All 5 winners will receive a $200 gift card, water conservation goodie bag, and have their artwork displayed around Charlottesville.

The winners for the 2019 Imagine a Day without Water Art Contest are:

1st – 2nd Grade: Lucy Sutton, Burnley Moran Elementary, Grade 2
3rd – 4th Grade: Timothy Choo, Baker-Butler Elementary, Grade 3
5th – 6th Grade: Beatrice Mitchell, Crozet Elementary, Grade 5
7th – 8th Grade: Emily Zhu, Sutherland Middle School, Grade 8
Fan Favorite: Manan Jani, Burley Middle School, Grade 6

In addition, teachers were encouraged to promote student participation and four were chosen to receive a $200 gift card to be used for classroom projects: Jaylen Crist (Crozet Elementary), Betsy Agee (Crozet Elementary), Sarah Healy (Greer Elementary), Lily Brookman (Jackson-Via Elementary).