The story prompted a torrent of outrage and support for the couple from the public.

Ron Riola said he sees people gratuitously wasting water every time he walks his dog.

He said he has reported more than 100 cases of water waste to the city in the past six years, and said none has been corrected.

The code states explicitly that front yards ?EUR??,,????'??shall be landscaped, irrigated and maintained.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'??The key word is a ?EUR??,,????'??maintained?EUR??,,????'??? front yard,?EUR??,,????'?? said Max Fernandez, city?EUR??,,????'???s director of code enforcement. If a yard is being tended and is not a nuisance, he said, it?EUR??,,????'???s OK.

City Councilman Steve Cohn said the code enforcement officer in this case may have been ?EUR??,,????'??overzealous,?EUR??,,????'?? and said city codes may need revising to be drought-friendly.

He also said the Utilities Department may need more resources to handle water waste calls.

The department?EUR??,,????'???s conservation unit has five inspectors: three part-time and two full-time. One of the full-time jobs is vacant.

Julie Friedman, the city?EUR??,,????'???s water conservation administrator, said her staff gets about 1,000 water-waste complaints annually and responds to each within one day.