Bel Air resident is top 'water hog' in city of Los Angeles

BEL AIR, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Department of Water and Power says a Bel Air resident is the top water user in the city of Los Angeles. The L.A. City Council is outraged over such "water hogs" and calling on DWP to crack the whip.

DWP officials said the particular resident, whose name and address remains unidentified, utilizes 11.8 million gallons of water a year.

Marty Adams from the DWP says that is just one home on a very large property.

"It's probably enough for a little over 100 households for a year," Adams said.

That has City Council members outraged. By law, the DWP can't reveal the name or the address, but council members want to stop it.

The DWP says an ordinance passed years ago can fine residents for broken sprinklers, but there is no law against using so much water. The maximum fine is $300.

"We've never had anyone go over a $300 fine and then you can have a flow restrictor put in," Adams said. "No one has ever gotten to that point in the ordinance, so we're in uncharted territory, but that amount of money isn't really going to change the behavior of one of these mega-users."

Councilman Paul Koretz wants to increase penalties, raise rates for high water use and, as a last resort, turn off the water. That might not be legal.

"We're asking the city attorney to take a look at both what we can do in terms of tiers and whether we can actually shut the water off," Koretz said.

Some Bel Air residents told Eyewitness News that the excessive water use needs to stop.

"They should be fined, well that doesn't make any difference. They have a lot of money so the fine doesn't mean anything. Put them in prison," said Howard Albrecht, a Bel Air resident.

The Department of Water and Power has 30 days to come back to the City Council with a plan to stop this person from using this much water.