Another environmental scandal. Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and more celebrities were accused of violating California’s rules on water usage during a drought.
The Skims founder, 41, and her older sister, 43, were among more than 2,000 customers who were recently sent “notices of exceedance” by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times published on Monday, August 22. The notices indicate that those customers used 150 percent or more of their monthly water budgets at least four times since the district declared a drought emergency in late 2021.
In addition to the two eldest Kardashian sisters, famous celebs who reportedly received the notices include Dwyane Wade, Sylvester Stallone and Kevin Hart. The district can now install flow restrictor devices — which can halt sprinklers and decrease water pressure in showers — on the properties that received the notices.
On June 1, the Las Virgenes district imposed “Stage 3” restrictions in an attempt to reduce water use by 50 percent. Those rules limit outdoor watering of lawns and plants to one day per week, with only eight minutes of use per station on the chosen day.
Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California imposed its strictest-ever restrictions amid the state’s driest period on record. Residents were asked to cut back their water usage to about 80 gallons per person per day. (For reference, one load of laundry uses about 21 gallons of water, while a 5-minute shower uses 9 gallons.)
Las Virgenes serves the area of Los Angeles County that includes the wealthy — and celebrity-filled — cities of Hidden Hills and Calabasas. According to the Times, the district has acknowledged that its customers are some of the highest water users in the region.
“We’re asking them to not just minimize their water usage, but we’re also asking them, in a way, to just completely rethink what is aesthetically pleasing to them and how that’ll impact their property values,” Las Virgenes spokesperson Mike McNutt told the newspaper. “And that is not something that happens overnight.”
The water usage allegations come during an ongoing debate about the way celebrities have been using their private jets in the midst of the global climate emergency. Last month, digital marketing firm Yard published a list of the stars with the worst records of carbon dioxide emissions, using data from the CelebJets Twitter account.
The report alleged that Taylor Swift is the No. 1 celebrity offender when it comes to private jet emissions, followed by Floyd Mayweather, Jay-Z and Alex Rodriguez. Kim ranked No. 7 on the list, while her sister Kylie Jenner — whose jet usage inspires plenty of criticism — didn’t crack the top 10.
After the list was published, the “All Too Well” songstress, 32, denied that she was solely responsible for her jet’s emissions. “Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals,” a spokesperson for the Grammy winner told E! News in July. “To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.”
Keep scrolling to see which stars have been accused of violating drought restrictions.
According to the Times, two Hidden Hills properties associated with the Selfish author exceeded their June water budget by about 232,000 gallons. (McNutt noted that water budgets are determined by several factors, including the number of residents at the property as well as the amount of irrigated land.) Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
The Poosh founder reportedly exceeded her Calabasas property's June budget by about 101,000 gallons. A rep for the Kardashians did not immediately respond to Us Weekly's request for comment. Matt Baron/Shutterstock
The Times reported that the Rocky star, 76, used 533 percent more — or about 230,000 gallons —than his June water budget at the Hidden Hills property he shares with wife Jennifer Flavin. The actor's attorney Marty Singer responded to the allegations in a statement, saying: “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 neighboring properties.” The lawyer 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.” MediaPunch/Shutterstock
A Calabasas property owned by the comedian, 43, exceeded its June water budget by 519 percent, or 117,000 gallons. Hart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rob Latour/Shutterstock
The former NBA star, 40, was accused of having one of the worst overages, exceeding his June water budget by 1,400 percent, or 90,000 gallons. According to the Times, Wade's property exceeded its May budget by 489,000 gallons. “We have been doing everything we can to rectify the situation and will continue to go to extensive lengths to resolve the issue,” the former athlete and his wife, Gabrielle Union, told the newspaper in a statement. “We have replaced all parts of our pool system that [have] to do with water flow and leakage in addition to converting to synthetic grass and drought tolerant plants to reduce our water usage. We will continue to work with the city and the water distribution company to make sure this isn’t an issue moving forward.” Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
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