Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart and Kim Kardashian among biggest names in water waste, says report
Celebrities are among more than 2,000 customers who have been issued ‘notices of exceedance’ by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
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Some of entertainment’s biggest stars, including Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart, and Kim and Kourtney Kardashian have been named among the worst wasters of water in their exclusive California neighbourhoods, according to a report.
The celebrities, who live in the star-studded Calabasas and Hidden Hills areas outside Los Angeles, are among more than 2,000 customers who have been issued “notices of exceedance” by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
That means that their properties have used more than 150 per cent of their monthly water budgets at least four times since the agency declared a drought emergency at the end of 2021, reports The Los Angeles Times.
“Customers are expected to adhere to the water use reductions and water conservation measures that are in place due to this emergency,” the notices reportedly reads.
Now their multi-million dollar homes are subject to the installation of restrictor devices that dramatically reduces the flow of water to the property of customers who refuse to abide by the water district’s rules.
The device is actually just a small metal washer that is installed at the home’s main shutoff valve and reduces water flow from around 30 gallons per minute to less than one gallon per minute, says the Times.
It does not impact water coming out of a kitchen tap but chokes it enough to weaken high-pressure showers and to make outdoor lawn sprinkler systems become non-functional.
Las Virgenes serves about 75,000 residents in western Los Angeles County and includes the areas of Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, and Calabasas.
It has one of the highest water uses in the state, with customers taking an average of 205 gallons per person per day in 2021.
And under even stricter drought restrictions introduced on 1 June, water officials are aiming to reduce water usage to around 80 gallons per person per day.
Under the June restrictions, outdoor watering is limited to one day a week, with only eight minutes per station on that day.
The Times obtained the documents under the California Public Records Act.
Stallone, who owns a $18m Hidden Hills home with his wife Jennifer Flavin, used around 533 per cent of its water budget in June, or around 230,000 excess gallons, according to the newspaper. This was up from 195,000 excess gallons in May.
Stallone’s attorney, Marty Singer, told the Times that the data could “mischaracterize and misrepresent the situation regarding the water usage at my client’s property.”
“They have more than 500 mature trees on the property, including innumerable fruit trees as well as pine trees,” he said in a statement to the Times.
“Absent adequate watering, in all likelihood they would die. That could result in dead or damaged trees falling on my client’s property or neighboring properties.”
And he added: “My client has been addressing the situation responsibly and proactively. They have let grasses die, and other areas are watered by a drip irrigation system.
“They also notified the city regarding the mature trees, and are awaiting an inspection and further instruction from the city about how to proceed. I am confident that all of the larger properties in the area have similar issues. I therefore trust that my client will not be unfairly singled out in the story because he is a famous person.”
The records show that 26-acre Calabasas property in the name of Hart in June exceeded its water budget by 519 per cent, or 117,000 gallons.
The Times says that two properties owned by Kim Kardashian, her home and an adjoining plot, exceeded their June budget by around 232,000 gallons.
Kourtney Kardashian’s 1.86-acre property in Calabasas also went over its June budget by about 101,000 gallons, according to the records.
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