California drought: Hollywood water-hog stars pay the price for ‘ignoring usage limits’ in Beverly Hills

Award-winning actor and comic, Amy Poehler, was reportedly sent a bill of more than $2,200 for using over 170,000 gallons of water at one of her properties during a two-month period last summer

Comic actor Amy Poehler used more than 170,000 gallons of water at one of her properties over a two-month period last summer (Getty Images)

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 per cent reduction, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Beverly Hills, with its sprawling lawns and tended palms, was among the worst offending neighbourhoods. Officials tried educational campaigns and restrictions on sprinkling and car washing. They even 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. Ms Poehler was reportedly sent a bill of more than $2,200 (£1,550) for using over 170,000 gallons of water at one of her properties during a two-month period last summer – almost seven times as much as the average American family, according to figures from the US Environmental Protection Agency. She did not comment on the reports.


 The city of Beverly Hills failed persistently to meet its own water-saving targets (Getty)
 (Getty Images)

Meanwhile the entertainment mogul David Geffen was claimed to have been charged more than $30,000 for consuming 1.6 million gallons over the billing period – half a million more than permitted. The film producer and director Brett Ratner blamed leaking pipes for his high usage.

The letters seem to have had an effect, with Beverly Hills cutting water use by 26 per cent in January compared to 2013. Cris Carrigan, California water board’s enforcement chief, said it was alone in its resistance to water conservation. “There are other affluent communities where conservation is cool. In Beverly Hills people are not motivated.”