Bodies are not the only thing turning brown in this scorching weather.

Across Metro Vancouver many lawns have suffered from major burnout, prompting some residents to get their watering hoses out, even at times when they are not allowed to.

It is why the sprinkler police are on the prowl in Delta, B.C. armed with addresses from a hotline which allows local people to phone in and report water use violations.

"We knock on the door, if the residents are home, we give them information to let them know about regulations and make sure they're aware of them,'' said Jarnael Payer, a member of the Delta "Water Wise Team.''

On a recent summer morning, the Water Wise Team paid a visit to the home of Mark Johnson, after his address showed up on the hotline.

But Johnson said his daughter is the one who committed the infraction.

"We were away on holidays,'' he said. "So we asked our daughter to [turn on the sprinkler] and she put it on at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon instead of 4:00 a.m. in the morning."

Caught a second time

Payer says he has heard a million excuses. Some violators complain that their neighbours sprinkle their lawns a lot more than they do.

"But when we drive around, whoever is watering is watering," Payer said. "And the fact that they were caught -- too bad,'' he said.

Violators receive a warning the first time they are caught. But if they are found sprinkling illegally a second time, they face a $100 fine.

"We haven't had any second violations yet this summer so the approach that we take is quite successful,'' said Shannon Wallace-Davies, another member of the Water Wise Team.

It's likely a sign that a knock on the door is more effective then a ticket in the mail.

"In this day and age, people are trying to go greener and everybody should be getting on board,'' said Wallace-Davies.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson