Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Sylvester Stallone and Kevin Hart are among hundreds of residents of an exclusive area of Los Angeles issued with warnings about water usage during a “severe” drought emergency period, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The celebrities are among more than 2,000 customers in the San Fernando Valley enclaves of Calabasas and Hidden Hills issued with “notices of exceedance” by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD), the newspaper reports.
It comes after the agency declared a drought emergency at the end of 2021 and increased restrictions further in June this year.
The notices suggest customers including the Kardashian sisters, Stallone and Hart have used more than 150% of their monthly water budgets at least four times since then, according to the LA Times, which obtained the documents sent to residents in May and June after filing a request under the California Public Records Act.
Residents who are overusing are subject to penalties, the LVMWD warned in a tweet earlier in August. Properties subject to warnings could see flow restrictor devices installed.
Former US basketball player Dwyane Wade and his actress wife Gabrielle Union are also among the residents who have been contacted, as well as attorneys, doctors and Hollywood executives.
“Customers are expected to adhere to the water use reductions and water conservation measures that are in place due to this emergency,” the notices read.
The drought in the US West has produced the driest two decades in the region in at least 1,200 years, according to research published in the Nature Climate Change journal.
The Las Virgenes district launched stage three water restrictions – out of four stages in total, with the third labelled as “severe” – on 1 June, limiting outdoor watering to one day a week.
According to the LA Times, Stallone’s property was among those that used more than its allocated budget in May and June.
The action man’s attorney Marty Singer is quoted in the report, saying the numbers could “mischaracterise and misrepresent the situation regarding the water usage at my client’s property”.
He continued: “They have more than 500 mature trees on the property, including innumerable fruit trees as well as pine trees. Absent adequate watering, in all likelihood they would die. That could result in dead or damaged trees falling on my client’s property or neighbouring properties.”
Mr Singer said Stallone had been “addressing the situation responsibly and proactively”, letting some grasses die and watering areas with a drip irrigation system, and was also awaiting an inspection and further instruction on how to proceed regarding the mature trees.
“I am confident that all of the larger properties in the area have similar issues,” the attorney’s statement added. “I therefore trust that my client will not be unfairly singled out in the story because he is a famous person.”
Former NBA star Wade also reportedly responded to the report, attributing excess water usage to a problem with their swimming pool. He and Union said they had “taken drastic steps to reduce water usage in accordance with the new city guidelines and have since we moved into our home” and were “doing everything we can to rectify the situation”.
Earlier in August, California’s grid operator also urged the state’s 40 million people to decrease the use of electricity
in homes and businesses during a heatwave. As spells of excessive heat become more frequent, the strain on power and water utilities will become more acute, scientists say.
Sky News has contacted representatives for Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart, and Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union for comment.