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# Spritz at your own risk
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/spritz-at-your-own-risk/
- Published: 2007-01-06T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:39:03.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Environment, Montana, #archive-import

*Officers on prowl for water abusers*

NORTH OF MONTANA — A city inspector was patrolling the streets in Santa Monica’s 90402 area on Thursday, searching for those in violation of the city’s municipal code.

He returned to his office in the afternoon, having logged 51 homeowners. Their offense? Breaking the city’s municipal code on sprinkler use.

Unwitting residents found to be pouring it on in excess, may soon be getting warnings about their delinquent water usage, followed shortly thereafter by fines of as much as $500.

The Urban Runoff Management division on Thursday began beefing up its enforcement of the city’s regulations on water waste and urban runoff. Once a week, city inspectors will be out in the field in four-hour increments, targeting a specific zip code to see if homeowners and businesses in that area are complying with Santa Monica’s efforts to be a sustainable city.

Water waste can be seen in leaking sprinklers that are spraying onto sidewalks instead of a lawn. When the water drains onto the streets and alleys, it becomes urban runoff, according to Neal Shapiro, urban runoff management coordinator.

City ordinance also bans sprinkler use every day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. — the warmest and windiest time of the day, when water is more likely to evaporate or be sprayed away from lawns and natural landscaping. Washing down paved areas, unless for health reasons, is strictly prohibited under the city’s urban runoff ordinance.

First-time offenders will receive a warning letter in the mail, instructing the property owner to take corrective action within a specified period of time. Those guilty of a second offense for water waste will receive a fine starting at $250\. For urban runoff, that second violation begins at $500.

“We don’t like to fine people,” Shapiro said. “We would rather help them understand what is going on.”

Sprinkler heads can malfunction through several ways, causing them to spew in opposite directions of a lawn. The most common cause is a nozzle out of alignment.

Everything from a car or lawn mower running over a sprinkler head to a person stepping on one can corrupt it, said Ann McGarvey, administrator at A-1 Sprinkler & Division inspectors had previously been checking sprinklers and other potential sources for water waste and urban runoff when they were already on the field for other purposes.

The division recently hired a new part-time intern who has dedicated her time solely to doing paperwork and sending out notification letters, freeing the inspectors of that responsibility and giving them more time to work in the field, specifically for water use enforcement.

Inspectors begin at 4 a.m.and work in four-hour shifts throughout the day until 4 p.m.

“We saw that we needed to be more proactive in being out in the field and finding these potential problems and educating people,” Shapiro said. “We want people to solve problems without having to fine them because then everyone benefits.”

In the posh area of Santa Monica known as north of Montana, not every lawn receives its daily dose of water through a fancy timer sprinkler system. Some homes only have hoses, while others, with no lawns to speak of, appear as though they utilize no irrigation system.

Herman Gumpers, who lives on 11th Street, north of Montana Avenue, said he agrees with the city’s efforts to crack down on homeowners abusing sprinkler rights, but felt residents should be notified.

“It’s good they’re concerned,” Gumpers said, standing before his home on Friday. “They should be sure to check very thoroughly.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 6, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010607.pdf?ref=smdp.com)