California is dealing with severe drought and calls intensify for all state residents to reduce water use. However, amid the crisis, popular figures such as Kim Kardashian, Sylvester Stallone, Dwayne Wade and Kevin Hart have been identified as among the biggest wasters of water in the San Fernando Valley.
Kim Kardashian, Sylvester Stallone receives accusations
As the average Californian used 101 gallons of water per day in June — or roughly 3,030 for the entire month — the sprawling estates of these celebrities received notices from their local water district because they exceeded their monthly water budgets by hundreds of thousands of gallons, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
For example, the $18 million, 2.26-acre Hidden Hills property owned by Stallone and his wife, model Jennifer Flavin, used 533% more than its allocated budget in June, or 230,000 excess gallons, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing records from the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
It is noted that a couple of properties associated with Kim Kardashian also received “notices of exceedance” from the district, which serves the tony, celebrity-filled enclaves of Calabasas and Hidden Hills, the Times reported. These properties include Kardashian’s Hidden Hills home and its adjacent lot, which together surpassed their June water budget by about 232,000 gallons.
Kardashian’s older sister, Kourtney Kardashian, also was named a water waster in the Times report. Her 1.86-acre property in nearby Calabasas exceeded its June budget by about 101,000 gallons, the records show.
The $18-million Hidden Hills property, owned by NBA star Dwayne Wade, exceeded its water budget more than any other Las Virgenes customer in May — in excess of 489,000 gallons, the Times reported. Wade and his wife, actor Gabriel Union, reduced their use somewhat in June — down to an excess 90,000 galloons — but the amount was still 1,400% above their allotted budget, the Times said.
Meanwhile, Hart’s 26-acre Calabasas property used an excess of 117,000 gallons, the Los Angeles Times reported. Some of these celebrities defended themselves in statements to the Times. Stallone’s attorney Marty Singer explained that the “Rocky” and “Rambo” star has more than 500 mature trees on his property, including “innumerable” fruit and pine trees that would “in all likelihood” die “without adequate watering.”
“That could result in dead or damaged trees falling on my client’s property or neighboring properties,” said Singer, who added that Stallone has tried to address “the situation responsibly and proactively.”
“They have let grasses die, and other areas are watered by a drip irrigation system,” Singer said. “They also notified the city regarding the mature trees, and are awaiting an inspection and further instruction from the city about how to proceed.”
Singer concluded by telling the Times he hopes that the actor wasn’t being “unfairly singled out” because he is famous.
Kim and Kourtney Kardashian and Hart did not respond to requests for comment. The Times’ report comes as the state slips into its third year of a devastating drought and after the Las Virgenes Water District issued notices to more than 2,000 customers. The notices informed customers that they had gone above 150% of their monthly water budgets at least four times since the agency declared a drought emergency at the end of last year.
With the notices, these properties are expected to install flow-restrictor devices, which can shut down lawn sprinklers and mean that only a trickle of water comes out of showers.
