SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- The Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities is seeing a sharp rise in water demand and officials are urging people to conserve especially as summer approaches.

Watering our lawns is costing us.

“It is a little bit worrying that it was so early in the season,” Laura Briefer, Director of Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, said.

Water use across the Salt Lake City water system is up 5% from the last three years and outdoor watering is up 10%.

“Usually, we would see the type of water demand on this kind of system that we’re seeing right now in the middle of July, and that's when it becomes a lot warmer and people are watering a lot more,” Briefer said.

Salt Lake’s system serves nearly 400,000 people in the city and nearby areas like Millcreek, Ho

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