In times of drought, why are residential consumers ‘targeted’ with conservation measures?

Nova Scotia ·New During the drought in Nova Scotia, some municipalities issued mandatory water conservation measures, prohibiting some activities.(CBC) Martin Tango, Acadia University professor, says measures more directly target residential consumers, who are the biggest consumer group.(Martin Tango/Submitted) In times of drought, why are residential consumers ‘targeted’ with conservation measures? Residential users consume more potable water than other groups As the worst drought in decades dragged on through the summer of 2025, some Nova Scotians who use municipal water supplies were asked and then ordered to stop watering lawns, washing cars and filling pools in the name of easing the strain on dwindling water sources. The conservation measures were targeted at residential users, which generated resentment and resistance over a perceived double standard. “Until they shut down golf courses, bottled water bottling plants, and other massive water using industrial uses, they can't expect anyone to not flush the toilet, etc.,” wrote one Reddit user in response to a CBC story in which Halifax Water urged residents to start conserving water or face mandatory restrictions . However, a review of data provided by some municipal water utilities shows there’s good reason to target residential customers with conservation measures. In most of Nova Scotia’s most populated areas, residential water use far outstrips that of industrial and commercial usage combined. In the Halifax Regional Municipality, residential and multi-residential customers accounted for 63 per cent of water consumption in 2024-25. Commercial, institutional and industrial customers accounted for 20, 11 and five per cent, respectively, in the same year. In Cape Breton Regional Municipality, residential users represented 72 per cent of the water use in 2024-25; in Kentville, figures for 2024 show small meter customers used 55 per cent of the water. Bridgewater is the exception. There, commercial water customers just outpaced residential ones for total usage in 2024-25 by 52 per cent to 48. The commercial use is driven by the Michelin tire plant, which accounts for 28 per cent of the town’s water use. Truro and New Glasgow don’t track commercial and residential consumption separately. The complaint about commercial customers and water use is one that Halifax Water officials say they hear on a semi-regular basis. But spokesperson Brittany Smith said it’s a misunderstanding of how water conservation measures work. “All the restrictions [that] apply to residential would have also applied to businesses as well,” she said in an interview. She said that, for instance, if a business and a private home have flower gardens on their properties, neither would be able to water them. She said the utility is also trying not to make the hardship of a drought any more of an economic crisis for business owners - and conversations are always underway about reducing overall consumption. “We're really working to try to balance between conservation measures and financial impacts to businesses,” she said. “So we're working with those large-consumption users ... to see which ways they could reduce their water consumptions and a more tailored approach depending on what their...

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