A British water company ordered tankers to halt deliveries to the English countryside estate of the American billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman, after local residents complained that some of the water was being used to fill a newly constructed lake on his property during a dry-weather period.
Mr. Schwarzman, the co-founder and chief executive of the global investment firm Blackstone Group, did not violate local water restrictions — which do not apply to construction sites — but his water usage caused friction with some local residents.
Mr. Schwarzman has been refurbishing a country house in the village of Conholt in east Wiltshire, about 80 miles southwest of London. Part of the estate lies in an English county, Hampshire, where dry weather has led to water restriction orders that prohibit residents from using hoses for watering gardens and other domestic uses.
Tim Mcmahon, Southern Water’s managing director for water, said in a statement on Thursday that he was “appalled” by the use of water, even if it did not violate water restrictions.
“It’s certainly not in the spirit of the incredible and ongoing community effort to save water across the county,” he said.
The story was reported on Thursday by the BBC. The estate is still able to receive water because Southern Water is not the only supplier to the property.
One local resident, Matt Nichols, the owner of a pub and restaurant, said that country lanes had been filled with constant traffic, including many water tankers driving through the village daily.
“We’re in a drought,” said Mr. Nicholas, who lives on the same road as the property. “It’s legal,” he said, “but whether it’s moral is another story.”
Southern Water became aware on Monday that water that had been delivered from its standpipes was being delivered to the Schwarzman estate after a local resident complained, said Adam Luke, a spokesman.
“To see someone fill up a giant lake with the same water that people are saving is pretty unacceptable,” Mr. Luke said Friday.
Southern Water said it was conducting a review into how this happened and how it could tighten its monitoring process.
Mr. Schwarzman had an application approved last year to build a lake as part of the renovations, according to documents from Wiltshire Council.
Dafina Grapci-Penney, a spokeswoman for Mr. Schwarzman, said in a statement on Friday that a portion of the transported water had been used to help fill a new lake, but that the water had come from multiple locations, most of which were outside the region.
The estate stopped directing water to the lake as soon as it received Southern Water’s request, she said.
She said that construction was winding down and was expected to be completed soon.
Lawrence Leask, a refrigeration and cooling expert, said that he and other residents had been taking turns filming the water tankers entering the property. Mr. Leask said there had been dozens of tankers a day, seven days a week. He said there had been huge amounts of traffic in a rural area.
While the two million residents of Hampshire cannot use a garden hose to water their gardens, fill their kiddie pools or clean their cars, Mr. Schwartzman is allowed to take water for his private lake, he said.
“It’s not fair, is it?” he said. “It’s one rule for him, and one rule for us.”
Jenny Gross is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news and other topics.
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