Don Wells spotted a trail of pooling water and slowed his van. Runoff from a sprinkler gone rogue streamed down a long block of thirsty brown lawns, watering the sidewalk.
"There it is," he said, pulling up to a house with grass too wet for this time of day. He grabbed his city-issued clipboard and a small digital camera. He was ready to snap a photo of the water violation before he even approached the property, just in case things got confrontational.
"You don't want people seeing you take a picture, basically," Wells said. "They don't like that too much.