The super-rich are overspending their water allotments, despite dire warnings about water use and restrictions on outdoor watering. According to the Los Angeles Times, some of Hollywood’s biggest names are among its worst offenders.
As water supplies dry up in the West, Southern Californians are only allowed to water outside twice a week. Huge lots in the affluent enclaves of Hidden Hills and Calabasas — near Los Angeles — also have water allowances.
But LA Times documents were given show names like Dwayne Wade, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart and Kim Kardashian that blew those lines, prompting warnings from the utility.
Now, the Las Virgenes Water District could add “flow meters” to its water lines to track usage and effectively turn off outdoor irrigation when they reach their limits.
It comes as states across the West seek to curb water use, while Arizona has been hit hardest with a federally-imposed 21% cut in its water grant. It is a concern of the state leadership, which is concerned about agricultural production.
“If Yuma County doesn’t have the water needed to grow produce, it means those produce will become more expensive across the country,” said Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly.
In California, basketball star Dwyane Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union told the Times they have been working to fix leaks in their pool and transition to drought-resistant landscaping. They exceeded their limit by 90,000 gallons, which is more than 1,400% of their allowance.
Sylvester Stallone and his wife Jennifer Flavin went 230,000 gallons over their limit and used more than 533% of the allowance. Stallone’s attorney told the LA Times the actor had to water more than 500 trees on his property and he had allowed some grass to die.
Newsy reached out to representatives from Hart and Kardashian, but received no response.
“Across the West, across the country, we need to have a conversation about how we set water prices and how we use water, especially for aesthetic purposes,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network.
The Water District acknowledges that many landscapes in the ritzy neighborhood are not built for drought and cannot survive under the restrictions in place.
A spokesman said it would take time to adapt entire properties to drought resilience, but there is still work to be done.
In Colorado, cities are switching grasses to more drought-tolerant varieties.
“The reason it doesn’t need irrigation is because once the roots are established, they grow deep enough that they pull water up from the bottom,” said Luc Hatlestad, public information officer for Arapahoe County, Colorado.
“Right now, there is a great need to conserve water for the Colorado River,” said Austin Krcmarik, director of water efficiency at Denver Water. “We really need to develop new strategies, beyond what we’ve traditionally done, about how we can do our part to make the landscapes work for us and conserve water.”
It’s an example of Las Vegas, where golf courses and casinos are struggling to keep their water usage down as resorts fill up after the 2020 closure.
“They removed about 900 acres of grass from their spots, which has helped them better manage their water resources,” said Bronson Mack, public information officer for the Las Vegas Valley Water District.
The dwindling water supply in the West is putting pressure on the wealthy to reduce water flow and deal with the consequences.
“We need to be able to use a significant amount of water less than we have in the past,” said Gene Shawcroft, Utah’s Colorado River Commissioner. “We just can’t keep going where we are.”
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