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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Virginia American Water is asking residential customers to voluntarily reduce nonessential water use, the utility announced Monday, citing the state's ongoing drought and rising summer demand.
The request is voluntary and applies only to households. The company said it is not asking businesses or industrial customers to cut back, and that the measures apply only for as long as the drought continues.
"The lack of precipitation and increased water demand in the hot summer months has impacted source water levels," Charles Piekanski, vice president of Virginia American Water, said in a statement. He said the company is asking residential customers to scale back nonessential use "in an effort to avoid additional restrictions."
Virginia American Water is the largest regulated water utility in the state, serving roughly 384,000 people, including customers in Alexandria. The announcement was issued from the company's Alexandria offices.
What the utility is asking
Outdoors, the company suggests watering lawns and gardens on alternating days and only in the early morning or evening to limit evaporation, shutting off ornamental fountains, and limiting car washing, pressure washing of paved surfaces, and pool filling.
Indoors, it recommends running dishwashers and clothes washers only when full, checking toilets and faucets for leaks, installing water-saving fixtures, and turning off the tap while brushing teeth or washing dishes.
What the drought data actually shows for Alexandria
The company's release describes "historic drought conditions" across most of the commonwealth. That characterization is accurate statewide — but the picture in Alexandria is more moderate than it was earlier this year.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor's most recent reading, released July 23 and reflecting conditions as of July 21, 100% of Alexandria is in moderate drought, the second-mildest of the monitor's five categories. No part of the city is currently classified as being in severe drought or worse.
That is a modest improvement from a week earlier, when about 2% of the city was rated in severe drought, and a substantial one from the spring. On April 21, the entire city was in severe drought. The same was true at the start of the calendar year.
A year ago, on July 22, 2025, no part of Alexandria was in drought at all.
The statewide picture
Statewide, the conditions are more serious. Average precipitation is running roughly 7.8 inches below normal for the water year that began Oct. 1, making it the second-driest on record, according to Gov. Abigail Spanberger's office. Spanberger has described the period as a historic dry stretch and has encouraged voluntary conservation across Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has kept Alexandria and nearly all of the commonwealth under a drought warning advisory — the designation signaling that a significant drought event is imminent — for months. The Drought Monitoring Task Force recommended emergency status for the Roanoke region earlier this month and met again July 21.
The Alexandria Brief reported in late June that Northern Virginia's picture is split: the region's drinking water sources were holding up, with surface water flow rated normal and the Occoquan Reservoir and Lake Manassas at normal levels, while three of four regional groundwater monitoring wells sat at emergency-level lows. Alexandria was also included in a regional drought watch issued by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments in early June.
No mandatory restrictions here
Mandatory conservation measures remain in place at community water systems elsewhere in Virginia — in Caroline, Fauquier, Louisa, Powhatan and Shenandoah counties — but not in Alexandria. Nothing in Monday's announcement changes that.
Fairfax County has asked Spanberger to exempt the Potomac River from any statewide drought emergency declaration, arguing that mandatory restrictions tied to the river would create unnecessary hardship for millions of Northern Virginia residents and businesses.
More information on the utility's conservation recommendations is available at virginiaamwater.com.
