It’s not a big drop, but in the face of drought and modest population growth, Albuquerque’s water use dropped in 2011. From the morning paper:

The drop was tiny — less than 1 percent.

But with Albuquerque weathering one of its driest years in history in 2011, the consumption drop is significant, said Katherine Yuhas, head of the conservation program at the Water Utility.

“What we’re telling our customers is, ‘Wow, amazing job,’” Yuhas said Wednesday.