Morning sprinklers turned on at Granville Island. A North Vancouver business pressure washing for aesthetic purposes. The lush lawn of a Dunbar home being watered illegally.

It’s been 24 hours since Stage 3 water restrictions were implemented in Metro Vancouver – but not everyone is obeying the new regulations. And with much of the region under extreme fire danger, many municipalities are beginning to crack down.

The City of Vancouver announced Tuesday that bylaw officers have escalated enforcement of the water restrictions to seven days a week, days and evenings. Further, a new bylaw will be brought to Council on July 22 to “update enforcement capabilities across all areas of restrictions.”

Anyone caught watering their lawn illegally or washing non-permeable surfaces like driveways will be fined $250. The Twitter hashtag #grasshole has become increasingly popular during the drought to describe people watering their lawn illegally.

In North Vancouver, Mayor Darrell Mussatto says that being warned is about to turn into being fined.

“We haven’t gone to the fine route yet, but we’re going to start that anywhere from $70 to $500,” he says. “It’s going to be severe.”

Coquitlam residents may soon face higher fines for smoking in city parks, something that is always illegal but is especially dangerous during dry summer months.

Violators currently face $75 tickets, but if a bylaw amendment is approved July 27 this will be increased to $500.

In Delta, firefighters say some people have already been ticketed for breaking into parks that are closed to mitigate fire risks. A brushfire in Watershed Park over the weekend was quickly extinguished – but also deemed suspicious.

Officials warn the region’s reservoirs have never been this stressed this early in the season.

Reservoirs are only at 70 per cent, a record low for so early in the year, and several days of heavy rain are needed to replenish them.

“This is the worst it’s ever been,” Mussatto told CTV News Monday. “We have to make sure we have enough to get us through into September, October and into November when the rains really start.”

Stage 3 restrictions means a complete ban on lawn sprinklers, car and boat washing, and watering cemetery lawns. Watering gardens will only be permitted using a spring-loaded shut-off nozzle, containers or drip irrigation – soaker hoses are banned.

It is also prohibited to refill private pools, spas, and garden ponds.

“It's OK to drive around with a dirty car - as long as your windshield on your license plates and mirrors are clean that's fine,” says Mussatto. “We have to have a bit of a cultural adjustment in that way, to say it's okay to have a brown lawn."

For more information on the stage 3 restrictions, see the Metro Vancouver Water Shortage Plan.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Nafeesa Karim