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GREENSBORO — No more second chances.

That's the city of Greensboro's new policy when it comes to wasting increasingly precious water.

With city reservoir levels dropping and no rain in sight, the City Council decided Tuesday to ditch the policy of giving warnings to those caught illicitly sprinkling their lawns.

From now on, residential property owners will face fines the first time they're caught running afoul of the restrictions. Commercial properties already faced fines from the first violation. In essence, the old rules meant a license for the unscrupulous lawn lovers to keep watering until they got caught.

City Manager Mitchell Johnson said Greensboro residents should be well aware of the water restrictions and the city's precarious water situation, which has been the talk of the city for weeks. Further warnings, he said, are not necessary.

"I think the community's clear on it," Johnson said.

The city also banned the use of "drip misters" on lawns. The misters, which provide a fine mist over a small area, may still be used on shrubs or flowers.

Johnson said the intent of allowing the misters had been to keep shrubs and bushes alive, but people were cranking them up to use on their grass. The misting zones got "bigger and bigger and bigger," he said.

Allan Williams, head of the city's water resources department, said city residents have been doing a good job overall of reducing their consumption.

Water use over the weekend dropped to below 30 million gallons each day, he said.

That came not long after the city stepped up its watering restrictions, completely eliminating the use of sprinklers after previously allowing residents to use them one day a week.

Usage had been over the 30 million mark daily and went well over 40 million on some days in the summer.

"We ramped up the restrictions," he said. "People reacted."

Williams said he welcomed Gov. Mike Easley's call this week for an end to lawn watering and car washing across the state.

The drought is increasingly threatening cities across the state and beyond, Williams said.

"I think we're getting pretty critical," he said. "It's really getting ugly out there."

Penalties for violating the water restrictions, which also include a ban on car washing other than at commercial car washes, start at $100 for residential properties and $200 for commercial properties.

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or jhardin@news-record.com