The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities presents "The Wonders of Water" Creative Writing and Art Contest

All entries must be received by end of day on Saturday, October 31, 2026 at 11:59pm.

There are 3 categories to which students can submit: Essay/Short story, Poem/Song and Art. All entries should be the original work of the student submitting it and represent the theme: The Wonders of Water! 

• Read and acknowledge the contest guidelines
• Be sure all contact information is correct
• Upload or Type your submission
• Check the Honor Statement box indicating you are submitting original work

All written submissions can be uploaded or typed in the provided textbox if necessary.  Art can be submitted by uploading a picture or other digital form of work using the "Upload Files Here" option. 

For any questions regarding submissions OR to drop off submissions in person, please contact Christal Bacon at (804) 646-6781 or Christal.Bacon@rva.gov.

1st Place:

• DPU social media shoutout
• Entry featured in DPU employee newsletter 
• Grand Prize and certificate

2nd Place:

• DPU social media shoutout
• Entry featured in DPU employee newsletter
• Swag bag and certificate

Largest Class Participation*:

• DPU social media shoutout
• Pennant recognizing award
• Teacher swag bag
• Class choice of pizza or ice cream party!

Largest School Participation:

• DPU social media shoutout
• Pennant recognizing award
• Rain Barrel installation at school/school garden
• A visit from our mascot, J.R., at an event of school's choice!

*To qualify for this prize, please have students enter the appropriate name and email for their teacher contact on the next page of the submission form. For middle/high school students, please indicate at the top of the essay what block they have that teacher’s class.

Rules 

1.    Participants must be a student of Richmond Public Schools OR a resident of the City of Richmond attending a school and age 18 or under.

2.    To qualify, participants must submit their work via the online submission form by the published deadline of Saturday, October 31, 2026 at 11:59pm.

3.    One (1) entry per participant will be accepted. Choose one (1) category to which you will submit.

4.    Written entries MUST be composed on the given topic and adhere to the maximum word count of 600 words. Minimum word counts are as follows:

•  Elementary - 150
• Middle - 300
• High - 450

5.    All entries must have been composed by the youth; dictating to parents to input into the online form is acceptable for younger participants submitting an essay, short story, poem or song.

6. All artwork must be original. You can submit an artist statement, a short paragraph explaining your work, if you choose.

The James River is a vital component of the Richmond region. Not only do residents and visitors use the river for a variety of activities such as swimming, fishing and boating but the James River is our sole source that provides the city with clean drinking water. Let's also not forget the vast amount of wildlife that thrives off of a safe and healthy watershed. The Department of Public Utilities provides safe and clean water to our consumers. Returning safe water back into the James River is a shared responsibility in environmental stewarship. How are you helping to keep Richmond's water cycle, from the James and back, as clean as possible? For more information on DPU's water and wastewater treatment process, projects improving Richmond's Combined Sewer System or any of our other efforts, please visit us at https://www.rva.gov/public-utilities.

DPU's Values and Mission

Mission: To provide safe and reliable services while creating exceptional value. 

Vision to Our Customers:  To proactively serve the utility needs of regional customers through environmental stewardship and resource conservation, while providing cost effective, safe service.