Beverly Hills Fails To Conserve, Shamed By Officials

Beverly Hills residents have been enduring some “drought shame” ever since the latest conservation figures were released by the state.

The upscale area “is among four California cities whose water utilities have been fined for not forcing residents to conserve enough water during California's unrelenting four-year drought,” Reuters reported, citing California State Water Resources Board officials. “The wealthy Los Angeles area municipality was fined $61,000, making it the only community not located in a desert to be assessed penalties.”

State officials are not impressed. Cris Carrigan, director of the water board's Office of Enforcement, was blunt about the results: “To those who aren’t [conserving], and are wasting water, I’d say yes, you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

The cities of Indio and Redlands and the Coachella Valley Water District also received $61,000 fines for failing to conserve enough water, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing officials.

In Beverly Hills, residents used an average of 169 gallons of water per person during the month of September. In the rest of Los Angeles, the figure is just 69 gallons. These numbers raise a vital question, according to Vice: “Just how much water does it actually take to clean one’s Fabergé egg collection?”

Carrigan spelled out what happened: "Some urban water suppliers simply have not met the requirements laid before them," he said, per the report. “For these four suppliers, it’s been too little too late.”

Beverly Hills officials say they are taking the news seriously, according to the Times:

Beverly Hills is "very concerned" about falling short of the state's 32% reduction mandate and is committed to programs such as "new penalty surcharges, hiring additional staff to address water violations and developing individualized conservation programs," according to a statement released by Cheryl Fielding, the deputy city manager for public affairs.

The statement also noted that penalty surcharges only became effective last month.

For more on “drought shaming” and other drought issues in the West, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.