The State - Officials go with the flow - Despite his plea to save water, mayor and other leaders are heavy users.

But records show that the mayor and several other top city officials have long been heavy water users themselves.

In Villaraigosa's case, even if he had made a 10% reduction at the two homes where he has lived since winning election in 2005, he still would have used nearly twice as much water as comparable properties in the vicinity.

City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo and Councilman Tony Cardenas surpassed the mayor, using more than twice the number of gallons over the last two years as typical property owners in their parts of town.

In fact, a review of Department of Water and Power documents shows that at least nine of the city's 18 elected leaders used higher than average amounts of water -- sometimes a little, other times a lot -- over the last two years.

Delgadillo, the largest user, consumed 2.7 times as much water at his home near Hancock Park as similar owners in central Los Angeles -- 890,120 gallons compared to a median of 328,524, according to figures provided by the DWP.

During that period, Delgadillo's water service was shut off briefly after he and his wife failed to pay their utility bill.

The DWP said it was too early to tell if any officials had cut back since the mayor called for greater conservation in June.

In a series of interviews over the last week, elected leaders were quick to say that water consumption depends on several factors, including geography, climate, lawn size, the number of people at a residence and the use of swimming pools or Jacuzzis.

Still, conservationists stressed the importance of public figures displaying thrifty ways as the city confronts shrinking water supplies and the driest season on record.

"Elected officials should lead by example," said Craig Noble, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It is really hard for the public to take these kinds of exhortations to heart if the people who are telling them to conserve are not doing it as well."

The stakes throughout Southern California are high this year, given what water officials have described as unprecedented dry conditions.