Virginia Novak stood outside her Roland Park home one recent afternoon and noticed something odd.

No sprinklers.

The mother of three usually sees at least a few sprinklers on her neighbors' lawns, but lately they have been a rare sight. She also has seen fewer people washing their cars.

Novak suspects that her neighbors are heeding the city's recent request to save water.

In response to continuing drought conditions, the city asked this month for voluntary water conservation measures, and many residents and businesses have obliged. After initial conservation requests in February, average daily water consumption dropped by up to 8 percent, or 20 million gallons, early last month.

Consumption has increased slightly with the return of steady rainfall, but it remains about 7 percent below normal, said a spokesman from the city's Department of Public Works.

"We're worried about the water supply," Novak said. "Clearly there's a drought: We don't have enough rain and water's an issue."

The average rainfall since March has returned to normal levels, but it hasn't been enough to compensate for a 12-month deficit of more than 12 inches. Summer is a high water-use season and typically brings less rainfall than spring and winter, and the city's three major reservoirs remain at about 62 percent capacity, well below normal levels. Thus, the city continues to encourage conservation efforts.

The Department of Public Works suggests these water-saving measures: Use washing machines and dishwashers only when full; restrict outdoor watering to gardens, and new grass and plants; use mulch to retain moisture in gardens; and use car-wash businesses (which recycle water) instead of washing cars at home. Residents also are urged to report illegally opened fire hydrants.

The city water system, which continues to tap the Susquehanna River to supplement its water supply, serves 1.8 million people in the city and in Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford, Carroll and Howard counties. Although the emphasis has been on individuals saving water, the city's biggest water customers are large industries. About 1,000 industrial businesses account for 56 percent of the city's water consumption, said Kurt L. Kocher, spokesman for the Department of Public Works.

The city has not made a specific appeal to large commercial users. But many businesses and institutions have introduced water-saving technologies, such as more efficient plumbing and irrigation systems, as a cost-cutting measure.

The Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, which has about 3,000 employees and 5,500 students, limited its water use to a daily average of 173,305 gallons during the first quarter of the year, down from a daily average of 194,506 gallons during the first quarter of last year.

Ron Warfield, the university's manager for building operations and maintenance, attributed that decline to technological improvements throughout the campus.

Another large employer, Bethlehem Steel, switched from drinking water to recycled water to clean roads this year, said Bob Abate, the safety, health and environment manager for the company's Sparrows Point division.

Throughout the city, residents are doing their part to save water. Scott Miles of Wyman Park said he washes his car once every four or five weeks instead of once a week.

"I grew up in California, so the water thing was always an issue," said Miles, 31.

Like many of her neighbors, Novak uses more efficient "soaker" hoses in place of sprinklers. She also keeps a couple of buckets in her back yard to collect rainwater, which she uses for watering plants.

Roland Park resident Maria Brzeczko said she waters her lawn only when the flowers begin to wilt, and she recently bought a low-flow shower head.

Plant nurseries, which often suffer huge losses during droughts, have taken measures to conserve.

Street-based Foxborough Nursery Inc., which serves many city residents, has seen twice as many plants die this season as did five years ago. To conserve city-supplied water, the company has increased the number of water trucks it uses to ship water from outside the city, said Jessica Geczy, a company forewoman. "The biggest thing is all of our trees are dying, especially downtown," Geczy said.

Monkton-based Bluemount Nurseries Inc., which provides plants for the city's civic works program as well as garden centers inside Interstate 695, has experienced significant losses this season, said Chief Financial Officer Nick E. Pindale. On one hot day in March, the company lost $26,000 worth of plants. But Pindale attributed many of those losses more to inconsistent weather conditions than the drought.

Pindale said his company has used more hand-watering as opposed to overhead irrigation.