It’s about to get more difficult to go unnoticed if your sprinklers are watering the street more than your lawn.

California’s worsening drought and mandatory new state water rules are prompting Bay Area water agencies to beef up their conservation staffs — the employees sometimes called “water cops.”

Only a few cities, including Santa Cruz and Sacramento, have resorted to writing tickets or issuing fines. But most others are simply responding to complaints by sending employees to homes and businesses with a stern warning, and sometimes a door hanger.

“The bottom line is that we are just not getting the results we would like to see for water reduction,” said Joan Maher, deputy operating officer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

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