You can write them notes or tie pieces of string around their fingers. But when it comes to reminding people about the importance of conservation, the Southern Nevada Water Authority finds nothing works quite like a swift poke in the pocketbook.

On Thursday, water authority General Manager Pat Mulroy said the time has come for another reminder.

Citing a recent uptick in the community's water use, Mulroy said authority officials are discussing a rate hike aimed at illustrating how valuable water is in the Las Vegas Valley.

"I think people are getting complacent. It's time for that subtle reminder," she said.

Mulroy said it is too soon to know how large the rate hike might be. She wouldn't even provide a ballpark estimate.

But in September 2003, the last time the authority and its member utilities raised rates to boost conservation, the increase averaged 29 percent across the board and almost 27 percent for single family homes.

Mulroy said the rate increase now being discussed could take effect by March.

The subject came up during a monthly report to the water authority board on drought conditions and other water supply issues.

The report showed that in August the community used 60,550 acre-feet of water, 5,620 acre-feet more than it did during the same month a year ago.

It was the highest total of any August since 2001 and continued a trend toward higher monthly water use that dates back to September 2005.

"From a conservation management standpoint that tells us something," Mulroy said.

There are 325,851 gallons in an acre-foot, which is almost enough water to supply two single-family homes in the Las Vegas Valley for one year.

Authority officials also blame the weather for the jump in water use last month, which was hotter and drier than a normal August in the Las Vegas Valley.

The rise in use -- and subsequent talk about renewed conservation efforts -- comes in the midst of a key state water hearing that will decide the fate of the water authority's plan to supply growth in Las Vegas with groundwater from across Eastern Nevada.

That hearing began Sept. 11 in Carson City and is tentatively slated to conclude Tuesday.

State water engineer Tracy Taylor is expected to rule on the authority's pump-and-pipe proposal sometime next year.

Mulroy said the pending rate hike would come in the form of an increase in the per-gallon price of water.

Local water utilities already employ a tiered billing system that incrementally increases what customers pay per gallon as their water use exceeds certain benchmarks.

The additional revenue from the 2003 rate increase was earmarked for local conservation efforts, including the authority's turf-rebate program that pays residents and businesses $1 for every square foot of grass they tear out and replace with desert landscaping.

An exact estimate of the extra revenue generated since 2003 was not available Thursday, but overall figures indicate that per-customer water use has declined since the rate increase.

In fiscal year 2003, before the new rates were imposed, the Las Vegas Valley Water District collected $203.5 million from customers. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, the valley's largest water utility collected $249.2 million, an increase of about 18 percent.

Over that same period, the water district saw its customer base increase by almost 16 percent.

In other words, per-customer revenue remained relatively flat, despite an almost 30 percent rate increase, said Scott Huntley, spokesman for the water district.

"What that means is that customers on average are using less water," Huntley said.