When it comes to watering violations most Merritt residents were sprinkling on the right day but at the wrong time, reported Merritt’s summer water conservation students.

From May to Aug. 15, Sarah Simon and Caitlyn Grimshire found 63 people watering on the correct day at the wrong time, 14 people watering on the wrong day at the right time and 15 people watering on the wrong day at the wrong time, they told council on Aug. 21.

They also reported that a majority of the violations were by residents with manual sprinklers as opposed to those with automatic systems.

Midway through the 2012 sprinkling season Merritt city councillors voted to change the watering times to make it more convenient for residents to water gardens.

In April council changed the manual sprinkling times to 8 to 10 a.m. and 8 to 10 p.m.; however, based on feedback from the public, council changed the manual sprinkling times to 6 to 8 a.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. in July.

Simon and Grimshire said these changes caused a lot of confusion. While the number of violations went down in June, they spiked again in July following the changes.

The students also reported that one evening they patrolled the city after 10 p.m. and found 15 violations.

“People seemed to think that no one was looking that late at night,” said Simon.

The Bench area had the most violations, with Collettville and Diamond Vale tied for second.