Some of the world’s most recognizable faces have been served with notices for repeatedly exceeding their monthly water budgets amid a dire drought in California, according to the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Kevin Hart, Dwyane Wade and Sylvester Stallone were served with the notices for exceeding 150% of their monthly water budgets at least four times at their Southern California properties, said Michael McNutt, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s communications manager.
Requests for comment from the celebrities were not immediately answered.
They’re among over 1,600 customers to have been served with the notices since the water district started issuing them in December, McNutt said. Las Virgenes’ 22,000 service connections provide service to around 76,000 residents.McNutt now wants the celebrities to lead by example and use their platforms to bring awareness to the historic drought.
“The reason this is important is that those individuals have a platform that they could use, like social media — some of them have millions following them,” he said.
“What I want them to do is work with me, work with my district, in order to put out public service announcements and educate the community on how dire this drought is. I want those celebrities to lead by example, then use that knowledge for themselves.”
McNutt, however, noted that “the celebrities’ properties are massive” and said he doesn’t expect them to change their water consumption overnight.
Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a statewide drought emergency in October as California struggled with unprecedented dry conditions and ongoing strain on state water resources. That authorized the state water board to ban wasteful water uses, such as using potable water for washing sidewalks and driveways.
The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District declared a state of emergency as a result and called for mandatory reductions in water use. Customers were asked to reduce their usage, and if they didn’t, they were subject to penalties, including a charge of $2.50 to $10 per extra unit of water or even having a “flow restriction device” installed in their homes, according to the water district.
“Visualize it: You have a 1-inch pipe with no restrictions, then we put on a flow restrictor — a stainless steel disk with a 1-inch diameter,” NcNutt said. “So water flows through that. Imagine how much your water pressure and water is reduced. More than anything, it completely removes the functionality of an outdoor irrigation system, and 70% of water consumption usually goes towards outdoor irrigation systems.”
The flow restriction device can be installed in homes that have exceeded the monthly water budget three or more times. It’s first installed for two weeks maximum, and then the customer is monitored by the district. If water usage doesn’t improve, the device is reinstalled for a month.
“We’re very serious about this. This drought is more dire and more historic than anything this state has ever seen, hands down,” McNutt said.
“We rely 100% on imported water, because we have no local source of water, and the drought is disproportionately impacting our area because of this, so we are serious about conserving water, because we have to.”
Newsom announced a strategy this month that “prioritizes actions to capture, recycle, de-salt and conserve more water,” according to a news release.
But the Kardashians, Hart, Wade and Stallone won’t be getting flow restriction devices at their homes because they’ve all signed a “Water Use Commitment Form.”
NBC News obtained a copy of the form, which allows customers to request a water use survey from the district, as well as get tips from specialists about how they can cut down on their usage.
It also requires customers to demonstrate “significant improvement in the efficiency” of their water use every month after they submit the form by doing things like installing “a weather-based irrigation control device” to help reduce outdoor water use. If no progress is made, customers could face financial penalties and flow restriction devices.
“The district’s position is it doesn’t matter who you are, how successful you are, how much money you have — everyone is treated exactly equal,” McNutt said. “So you can be Kim K or any of these other celebrities, and you’ll get a flow restrictor.”
In response to a Los Angeles Times story about the notices, the Wade family told the paper that they had “taken drastic steps to reduce water usage in accordance with the new city guidelines and have since we moved into our home.”
A lawyer for Stallone told the Times, “My client has been addressing the situation responsibly and proactively.”
Representatives for the Kardashians and Hart did not respond to the Times’ requests for comment.
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