Stars splash out in severe drought

TIM WALKER

LOS ANGELES: Amy Poehler, the award-winning actor and comic, is reported to have been among Hollywood stars targeted by Beverly Hills authorities for her home’s alleged excessive water usage during California’s devastating drought.

Several entertainment industry figures were singled out for allegedly profligate use of water last year – even after the state ordered a mandatory 25 percent reduction, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Beverly Hills, with its sprawling lawns and tended palms, was among the offending neighbourhoods. Officials tried educational campaigns and restrictions on sprinkling and car washing. They urged residents to use recycled water in their fountains. But the city failed persistently to meet its own targets and in October was fined by state regulators who said its resident water hogs “should be ashamed”.

In November, the Los Angeles Times reported, Beverly Hills authorities finally sent warning letters to 86 residential water customers whose consumption had continued unabated through the drought. Poehler was reportedly sent a bill of more than $2 200 for using more than 64 000 litres of water at one of her properties over a two-month period – almost seven times as much as the average family.

The letters seem to have had an effect, with Beverly Hills cutting water use by 26 percent in January compared to 2013.

Cris Carrigan, California water board’s enforcement chief, said, “There are other affluent communities where conservation is cool. In Beverly Hills people are not motivated.” – The Independent