Officials credited conservation, the recession and a slew of other variables for the decreased demand for water.

On Monday, the Charlottesville City Council unanimously backed the $142 million plan that would build a new dam at Ragged Mountain and a pipeline to fill it, providing increased storage from 464 million gallons to 2.19 billion. On Tuesday, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority received a blessing from the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, allowing officials to move forward.