Funny thing, though. Despite all of the moisture available for showers or lawns, state residents continued to conserve as if the six-year drought was still on. And that has water officials cautiously optimistic about the future. Nobody is ready to say that Utah has turned the corner on its historically profligate water use, but it sure looks like the state may be on the verge.

"Is there that light at the end of the tunnel? Maybe," said Stephanie Duer, Salt Lake City's water conservation coordinator. "What we can say for sure is that we're at least in the tunnel."

The state Division of Water Resources reports that statewide water use actually decreased about 1 percent from a year ago, when the drought was still perceived to have its grip on Utah and the rest of the Intermountain West. That is part of a larger overall trend: Water use overall is down 17 percent across the state since 1995 despite increases in population.

But the fact that this continued decrease has come in a year when ski resorts totaled 500 inches of snow, spring flooding occurred from one end of the state to the other and reservoirs refilled may be an indication that the relentless water conservation campaigns that began during the drought have started to take hold in the Utah psyche.

"I do think it has made a difference," said Division of Water Resources Director Larry Anderson. "I believe people are interested in and concerned about conserving water resources. The public understands the importance of this."

Certainly, there were some mitigating factors in assessing this year's decrease in water use. The spring was so wet that many home and business owners didn't see a need to start up their sprinkler systems until well into May, lopping at least a couple of weeks off the start of the lawn-irrigation season.

The drought also probably continued to play a role, from the standpoint that not everyone was ready to proclaim it over - including local meteorologists and hydrologists.

"We don't have a good handle on how long this thing is," said Randy Julander, snow survey supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Historically, there have been extended droughts with one or two wet years in the middle. Certainly, this past year has been magnificent in terms of how much water came down the streams and how much we were able to bank.

"But the flip side is, do we know what the next five years holds? If we have dry year, is it Drought I with subtitles, or is it Drought II? That's the difficulty."

There also are those who want to see a little more evidence before reaching any conclusions about Utahns' water use.

Bolstering state estimates, the Jordan Valley Water Conservation District has delivered slightly less water to its customers - about 2,000 acre-feet - than it did a year ago through the end of September.

But Jordan Valley's assistant general manager, Bart Forsyth, also says district customers actually increased their water use this September over September 2004 - 9,700 acre-feet versus 8,400. He wonders if these latest figures indicate some wet-year backsliding.

"The public did a great job of conserving water throughout the drought and continued to conserve this summer. But we had a little slippage in August and September. So the jury is out. I want to reserve judgment until we get to the end of the year and have more data."

In the larger, longer picture, the numbers speak for themselves. In the last decade, state residents have decreased their per capita water use from 321 gallons per day to 265. In Salt Lake City, the decrease has been even more pronounced, with residents there cutting their daily per capita consumption from 265 gallons to 114 in the last five years.

Duer says the most compelling evidence of residents changing their mindset about water may be this: long, significant decreases in water use after a good rain.

"Ten years ago when we had a rain event, we'd see a slight decrease in usage, but it was really just a one-day thing. The consumption would go right back up," said Duer. "What we're seeing now is, after rain events, not only is the decrease marked and deep, but the decrease is lasting longer. That tells me people are learning."

jbaird@sltrib.com

Time to turn off the sprinklers

The Utah Division of Water Resources is asking northern Utah residents to turn off their sprinklers until spring.

Continuing to water lawns, which begin to go dormant in October, can actually cause freeze damage, according to Molly Waters, the division's conservation coordinator.

"The rainstorms we recently experienced couldn't have come at a better time," she said. "If your lawn begins to show severe signs of stress, go ahead and give it one more deep watering before shutting off your system." But regular watering, Waters added, should be discontinued.

Residents in southern Utah should also cut back on watering. Once a week in October, and once every 10 days in November is plenty, she said.