Monday, July 29, 1996

Water Cops patrol the streets of Corpus

By Associated Press

CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) - In this drought-plagued slice of Texas, elite officers patrol the streets night and day to protect the community from one of its biggest threats.

They're called water cops.

Leandro Lopez is one of 24 city workers assigned to help keep Corpus Christi from falling victim to the current drought. And he takes his job seriously.

It was 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, and a flow of water into a gutter caught Lopez's eye. No outside watering was supposed to be going on at that time.

"I think we got one," he said.

He eased his white pickup slowly down the block, following the flow of water until he came to a house where water gushed from the front yard onto the sidewalk.

The source wasn't clear. Lopez deftly assessed the situation. No sprinklers. No one watering the flowers.

"I've got a hunch," he said.

In the front yard, he found the violation: Hidden in the tall grass was a hose spewing water at full blast, held down with a brick.

Lopez turned off the hose and said he would mail a water restriction violation warning. Another case cracked, another gallon of water saved.

As of last week, the Corpus Christi water division had issued 300 warnings for improper water use. After two warnings, violators get tickets that can carry a fine of up to $500. So far, no one has been ticketed.

The city activated the water cops in May, rationing water in response to a severe drought. The water division now rotates its 24 employees on round-the-clock patrols.

"A lot of people are just not taking this drought seriously," said Roy Ramirez, a general foreman with the division. "Many are using tricks to get around the restrictions. Many wait until around midnight to water, thinking that we're not watching. But we are."

Lopez certainly is. He cruises the streets, looking for damp sidewalks and puddles of water. The clues are as critical to him as drops of blood to a homicide detective.

He finds some violations that way, and some are reported by the water division's 200 employees during their daily rounds.

But according to Ramirez, the worst enemy of water bandits are their neighbors. Stool pigeons have been the best source of tips, he said.

Lopez recalled one man who became furious at being issued a warning.

"He was mad because he knew that one of his neighbors had reported him," Lopez said. "He kept yelling, 'I know that one of you turned me in!' And he was right."