Current Events > Billionaire's Water Supply Cut Off After Wasting Millions Filling Private Lake

(+) Yeah! (+)

This story has caught my eye.

URL: https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionaire-stephen-schwarzmans-water-supply-cut-off-after-wasting-millions-filling-private-lake/

Stephen Schwarzman (known for founding Blackstone, one of the biggest investment firms in the world) thought filling a man-made private lake (with at least some of the water being sourced from limited groundwater at that) was fine even during a drought with enforced rationing and a hosepipe ban. Local residents did due diligence though in tracking where all these trucks filled with water were going and what was happening was revealed and caused outrage...and the Southern Water managing director banned the use of this water. So far the estate is complying. This seems like a massive waste of resources when regular people are forced to ration water.

A more complete short summary is below. The full article can be found via the link.

Short Summary:

Stephen Schwarzman has had his water supply cut off by water companies after using large amounts of water to fill a ninemilliongallon lake on his 2,500acre estate in Wiltshire, United Kingdom.

He had been transporting about thirty water tankers a day to his estate while parts of the country face drought and water restrictions. Local residents tracked and filmed the tankers to document the deliveries.

Southern Waters managing director expressed outrage at this water usage. The company issued a ban on directing water to the lake, and Schwarzmans estate has complied so far.

His spokespeople stated that the water was acquired legally from licensed providers and mostly from locations outside the region. They also said the estate adjusted its supply after Southern Waters request.

There were previous concerns that water was being extracted via a borehole to fill the lake. Schwarzmans estate denied extensive use of groundwater but admitted that in a few limited cases, water from a borehole entered the lake.

Let them drink lake.

About fucking time someone finally showed some fucking backbone and told a billionaire "no".