TWIN FALLS - Gene Schultz doesn't have a badge. He doesn't have a gun. And a quick drive around town with him reminds you he doesn't roll to the theme song from the TV show "Cops."

But Schultz upholds the law - water law.

Schultz modestly refers to himself as the city's water inspector. He simply drives around Twin Falls during irrigation season - April through September - looking for lawn sprinklers spraying water when they shouldn't be. When he spots one, he writes a ticket. Then he moves on.

"There's a drought going on and people need to conserve the water," he said. "That's my job - to educate people."

It's a routine he's worked since the city enacted a water conservation ordinance in 2004 that required, among other things, lawns to be watered before 10 a.m. and after 5 p.m. on alternating days of the week.

A retired architect, Schultz is from Twin Falls but lived mostly in California before returning three years ago. He performs the job like, well, a retired architect - with a seasoned, matter-of-fact method, careful not to disturb a mild-mannered personality.

"It gives me something to do and it's a service for the community," he said. "I think it's great."

There are 14,000 water accounts spread across the city. Exemptions are given to people with new lawns and subdivisions and businesses that receive approval for alternative watering plans.

Hiring Schultz - he's an hourly employee - appears to have paid off. Since mid-April, when he officially began duty, nearly 600 violations have been issued, an average of almost 10 per day. He's issued more than a dozen fines - $40 for a second violation, $80 for a third, and $120 for a fourth.

Tuesday morning was a smorgasbord of activity: A half-dozen violations. Warnings to new residents. A $40 fine. A warning to a confused babysitter. Schultz left tickets at empty homes where sprinklers were left on.

But the fun is not in seeing who violates the ordinance - but in hearing what they say when they're caught.

Just before 11 a.m. Schultz stopped in front of a quaint, tidy home with a deep green lawn.

There were also about 10 sprinklers on full blast.

The woman - perhaps sensing something was amiss - frantically ran outside before Schultz even finished filling out the ticket in his truck.

She spoke first, apologizing profusely. The lawn, she said, just received chemicals It needed to be watered.

Schultz nods. He understands. But it doesn't matter.

Back in his truck, Schultz said he understands she was sorry. But, he points out, she didn't refuse the ticket.

"She was breaking the law," he said. "I would say she was taking a chance getting away with it. And she didn't."

Her story might be true, but Schultz never knows. Earlier, one resident told Schultz she was disabled and had forgotten to shut the sprinkler off - because she was on the phone with her doctor.

"You don't know if they're telling the truth or not," he said. "They give funny excuses. They forget. Or all of the above."

His favorite is when a man explained in detail how his sprinkler was powered by an outlet and batteries, but remained on after it suffered a "spark" and threw off the system off.

"Spiking? I'm not an engineer. I don't know what that means," said Schultz in disbelief. He wrote the man a ticket.

Schultz doesn't make exceptions, no matter what you do - he's logged numerous businesses - or who you are - he's cited Twin Falls City Council members.

"Water cop's alright," he said last week when pressured about nicknames. "That's what people know me as."

Still, he said he has no agenda. He logs addresses, not names. And although residents call City Hall to report violators, he must see violations firsthand. He said most are made by new residents. No one is ever refused.

Schultz insists that he doesn't need any help. But for next year the city will ask for at least one more water inspector, said Gretchen Scott, the city's management assistant.

The extra manpower might help because the water ordinance also mandates that restaurants serve water only if requested by customers, and Schultz said he rarely checks. He said restaurants generally comply, and the violating sprinklers are more important.

But another inspector might help on the weekends, when no one is monitoring sprinklers - a loophole Schultz concedes residents take advantage of.

"How do you fine that, because the city doesn't work on the weekends?" he asked.

Regardless of whether the city gives Schultz some assistance, he understands his job is not immune to danger. After Schultz issued a warning to a resident and walked back toward his truck, his back was struck with the cold pierce of a sprinkler.

"That's the hazards of the job," he said with a smile.

After being sprayed, he promptly got back into his vehicle. There was more work to be done.

Government reporter Jared S. Hopkins can be reached at 735-3204 or jhopkins@magicvalley.com.