The thermometer is high, but get this, water consumption in Abilene is down -- at least compared to last year.

Figures from the city indicate around this time last year the average daily consumption for the city was more than 35 million gallons a day.

This year, however, that is down by about five million gallons to almost 30 million.

People are using less water, and the city is happy about that especially because the bucket is running dry.

The city of Abilene called 2011 one of the highest water consumption years in recent history. Heat and drought were to blame. At the same time, the city's water supply remained steady last year.

A year ago, lake capacity was 62 percent at Lake Fort Phantom, 50 percent at Hubbard and 23 percent at O.H. Ivie Reservoir.

This year the the lakes are down -- a lot. Lake Fort Phantom is now at 45 percent of capacity, Hubbard at 40 percent, and O.H. Ivie at only 14 percent.

So why are people using less water?

"Better rainfall, better temperatures, that will typically lead customers to use less water," said Wayne Lisenbee with the city's utility department.

Rain didn't do much to help lake levels,  though.

So besides following the rules, there's something you can do to help, including turning off the water when you're brushing your teeth, shaving or whatever you're doing around the sink.

"It may seem like small quantities of water, but when you have a hundred thousand people all saving small quantities of water it adds up in a hurry," Lisenbee said.

Another motivation to keep water use low is penalties. Last summer 76 citations were given for watering violations. This year only six have been handed out so far.