Users turning on to water conservation

August 11, 2025

Residents of the county are getting a lot better at conserving water, says the Municipality of Inverness County’s Water Meter Technician.

Devin MacDonald was hired in 2020, as the municipality was working to upgrade its water metering system. He manages the system along with coordinating the installation of meters and conducting seasonal connections and disconnections for residents.

He says he’s seen major improvements in residents’ attitudes towards conservation.

“I was hired after the water metering program began, to bring it to completion,” MacDonald says, noting that there was metering done before his arrival, but that it wasn’t efficient.

Prior to the upgrade of the system, staff would have to be pulled off their regular jobs every three months to travel the county collecting data.

“It could take two to three weeks,” he says. “I can do the whole county in two days. Not only can it be done more efficiently, but you’re getting accurate, timely data now.”

When he started working for the municipality, MacDonald says there were a lot of surprises in that data.

“When I first came here, on the software program that I use, generally you’d expect to see businesses in the top 15 – hotels, restaurants, hospitals and schools,” he recalls. “When we first started metering, there were a lot of residential customers in there on par with restaurants.” That shouldn’t be the case, MacDonald notes.

Along with upgrading the metering system, the municipality began distributing literature on water conservation, with tips on what to watch for, like running toilets or water softeners that can waste water when they get stuck on a backwash cycle.

At the same time, many residents were having to come to terms with having to pay for water for the first time. “Not everybody had meters,” MacDonald says. “It was basically starting from scratch.”

MacDonald says water conservation is a key part of his job, and that in most homes, toilets are often the biggest culprit when it comes to wasting water.

“It’s probably the biggest user of water in your home and the number one thing is the flush valve. That can gum up with mineral deposits and prevent it from sealing. It then keeps a flow of water going,” he explains. “People tend to notice that on their bill very quickly.”

MacDonald says he also sees a greater acceptance of, and cooperation with, water conservation advisories.

“It seems like Inverness has been getting one every summer and it’s directly related to aging infrastructure and the high demand of people visiting in the summer,” MacDonald says, noting that residents have been very cooperative as the municipality works to upgrade its infrastructure.

“People have been pretty good,” he says. “You can drive around and you’re going to see someone watering the lawn, you’re going to see someone washing their car. But in the grand scheme of things, from what I’m seeing, everybody does what they’re supposed to.”

In its advisories, the municipality outlines a number of steps that consumers can take to conserve water, and they include: taking shorter showers and not taking baths; not watering their gardens or lawns; not washing their vehicle or boat; not letting faucets run when washing or rinsing; avoiding washing clothes as much as possible; flushing the toilet less often; and keeping a bottle of water in the fridge to avoid letting water run while getting a drink. In the end, every drop saved is better for our communities and the environment.