L.A. GOES WITH THE (LOW) FLOW; RESIDENTS RETAIN WATER-THRIFTY WAYS PAST DROUGHT.

Byline: Mary Beth Beene Daily News Staff Writer

Leah Sternberg says when it comes to using water, she's as frugal as the next person.

She never runs the dishwasher unless it is full. And she turns the faucet off when she brushes her teeth.

But she concedes she has slipped a little.

Those low-flow shower heads she used during the 5-year dry spell? They're history.

``It's just not as fun to take showers with them,'' said Sternberg, 33, of Woodland Hills.

It's the same for the vast majority in Los Angeles: Water use is rising, but a lot of conservation measures have endured the end of the drought.

In many small ways that add up to more than 10 billion gallons saved each year, the people of Los Angeles have made water conservation a way of life.

Residential water use in L.A continues to be lower than it was in the mid-80s, when it was common throughout the city to see sprinklers soaking lawns in the midday sun.

In Los Angeles city, per capita water use went down from a predrought level of 174 gallons per day to a low of 128 gallons in 1991-92. Since then, per capita water use has crept back up to a 1995-96 level of 144 gallons per day.

Even though the drought-spurred water conservation laws are still on the books, it's been four years since anyone in the city has been slapped with a citation for hosing down a sidewalk or any other blatant water-wasting practice.

``I would say we're at 85 to 90 percent compliance,'' said Jerry Gewe, the director of water resources for the Department of Water and Power.

``You'll see sprinklers on during the day more than we did during the drought, but most people have made (conservation) a matter of lifestyle.''

Many admit they'd be a tad embarrassed to be caught with a stream of water running from their garden hose down the street.

Officials and residents say in many ways conservation continues simply because it has been made easier.

Appliances now are designed to save water.

Sprinklers run on timers that control water flow and can be set for early morning and late evening.

Devices installed during the drought - like low-flow toilets and shower heads - are helping conserve millions of gallons yearly, officials said, while residents are not inconvenienced.

``That's why we've concentrated on hardware changes, things people don't have to think about,'' said Peggy Pollyea, water conservation coordinator for the city.

``People still flush the toilet the same.''

Reservoirs in California have water stored so there are no shortages expected this year.

The name of the state's Drought Information Center, which was opened during the drought, has been changed to the California Water Conservation Center.

Officials acknowledge that without the immediate threat of shortage, a number of conservation habits have gone down the drain.

``In most areas of the state, folks have pretty much forgotten about the drought,'' said Jennifer Persike-Becker, spokeswoman for the Association of California Water Agencies.

``It's not the big things, it's the smaller things, you know, like running the tub a little bit to get the water temperature right.''

Many Los Angeles restaurants routinely supply glasses of water to tables now, even though it is technically against city regulations to provide water without a customer request, officials say.

Many people say they no longer keep buckets in the shower to collect runoff for watering plants.

Nor do they limit their families to a certain number of toilet flushes each day.

``I don't make sure I take five-minute showers,'' said Walt Thomas of Simi Valley. ``During the drought, I used to look at the meter all the time. I don't do that anymore.''

Ken McFadden, 41, of Palmdale ruefully watched his back lawn turn brown during the drought, but times have changed.

``I don't really feel it's a crime to water my grass a little more, because I've heard there's a lot more water,'' he said. Oh, and that landscaping buzzword - xeriscaping - isn't muttered often these days, landscapers say.

``I very rarely get requests for it anymore,'' said Ed Ibrahim, manager at California Sunshine Landscape. ``People feel like we have more than enough water.''

For some, the cost of water - more than conservation - is driving their continued cutback.

In Los Angeles, the average cost of 100 cubic feet of water (about 748 gallons) has gone up from $108 in 1987 to $166 now because of rising water costs from DWP suppliers and funding of programs for recycling, conservation and water-quality improvements.

Sternberg acknowledges that until this year, she even - gulp - let her kids run the hose to cool down on hot days.

That is, until she realized how much it cost.

``Water is too expensive,'' Sternberg said.

``If I had won the lottery, would I worry about water? No, (unless) it was a drought.''

McFadden said people may not be as diligent about conservation because they're no longer bombarded with the doom and gloom filling the airwaves in the late '80s and early '90s.

``When it's on the news that you should conserve, I think people do,'' McFadden said.

``But when you don't hear it on the news all the time . . . I don't think people think about it as much.''

Jeff Cohen, a spokesman for the State Department of Water Resources, said water conservation should always be practiced, because one never knows when the next drought might hit.

``Generally, we have a drought every year - it's called summer,'' Cohen said. With predictions that water supplies could dwindle by the year 2020, Cohen said water districts across the state are focusing on wide-scale ways to conserve through reclamation and desalination.

Walt Thomas, on the other hand, will continue to do the little things he started when the dry spell hit - like using a glass of water to dip his razor in when he shaves, and fixing leaks as soon as he spots them.

``It's almost like second nature,'' Thomas said.

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Chart: WATER USE IN LOS ANGELES