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Bad for you, Albuquerque.

You're just not saving enough water.

Ever since August, when the rains pretty much disappeared, water use has steadily increased.

So far, the Duke City has used 1.11 billion gallons more water than it had at this point last year, said Katherine Yuhas, conservation officer at the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority.

"It's not so good over the past few months, to be honest," Yuhas said.

Last year at this time, residents had used 27.2 billion gallons of water. This year so far they've used 28.31 billion gallons.

The most likely culprit: The dreaded New Mexico lawn waterer.

There are still spikes of weekend water use from people irrigating their yards. But Yuhas said it's getting too cold for that because plants are going dormant and watering isn't necessary.

"Yes, it is dry, but it's also colder at night," Yuhas said. "As soon as it's freezing, you really can stop watering."

During the week of Oct. 20, Albuquerque residents used 576 million gallons of water. That's more than they used over that week in the past three years, Yuhas said.

In her yard, she turns on the irrigation system once a month, at most, if it's a particularly dry winter, she said.

"Once a month really is good enough to make sure your plants don't die," she said.

If the weather outlook for the winter continues, that will probably be a good plan for everyone, she added.

So far, it's looking like it will be dry and warmer than normal, said Shawn Bennett, the chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

"We have a below-normal chance of precipitation," Bennett said of the winter months. "We have a La Ni¤a developing over the Pacific, and that means drier than normal precipitation, and that usually lasts through the springtime."

No record lows for precipitation have been recorded since August - September netted 0.73 inches and October so far is 0.17 inches - but it's still been awfully dry, Bennett said.

And that could bring fire weather with it.

"We're dry and the winds are starting to kick in," Bennett said. "The one thing I'd say to really keep in mind is, be particularly careful with fire, cigarettes, campfires and those sorts of things."