This article is the second in our series exploring water’s critical role across industries. Water is essential to entertainment - often invisible, but central to everything from festivals and theme parks to sports arenas and aquatic shows.
Water and Entertainment : A Vital Yet Overlooked Resource
The entertainment industry relies on water in ways that often go unnoticed. Whether as a central attraction or operational necessity, it plays a key role across sectors:
- Festivals & Large-Scale Events: Water is essential for hydration stations, sanitation, food services, and site maintenance. Large-scale festivals can consume thousands of liters per day just to meet attendee needs.
-
- Theme Parks & Aquatic Shows: Water attractions, fountains, and misting systems enhance visitor experiences but also pose sustainability challenges due to evaporation and continuous renewal needs.
-
- Arenas & Ice Sports: Ice rinks require significant water for ice creation and maintenance. One Zamboni session can use hundreds of liters.
-
- Water-Based Activities & Pools: Evaporation, chemical treatments, and frequent water renewal make sustainable management critical. Proper wastewater treatment is necessary to prevent environmental harm.
As these industries grow, efficient water use becomes critical.
Practical Water Solutions in Entertainment
Under growing pressure to reduce their water footprint, many venues and events are adopting smart solutions to boost efficiency - without compromising experience.
O’land Solutions – Hydration Without Waste
O’land Solutions provides portable drinking water refill and hand-washing stations for festivals and large events, significantly reducing reliance on single-use plastic bottles.
Phaneuf International – Recycling Water in Ice Arenas
Phaneuf International has developed a system that recycles water used by Zambonis, helping arenas cut down on potable water consumption while maintaining high-quality ice surfaces.
These innovations show that sustainability and entertainment can go hand in hand - and that better water management is already underway. Click here to check out more innovations: AquaAction portfolio
Collaborative Innovation for Sustainable Water Management in Entertainment
The entertainment industry is increasingly adopting sustainable practices to manage water resources efficiently. Here are some notable initiatives:
Music Festivals and Large Events:
- Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) (Quebec, Canada): Carbon-neutral since 2014, FEQ offsets emissions from artist transportation and energy consumption while promoting sustainable waste and water management.
-
- Hillside Festival (Ontario, Canada): Sustainability is at the core of this event, featuring a green roof on its main stage, reusable dishware, composting stations, free water refill stations, and solar-powered dishwashing.
Theme Parks and Aquatic Shows:
- Legoland California Resort (Carlsbad, United States): The park uses regenerative media filters to reduce pool water consumption by avoiding backwashing. Despite expanding, total water use increased by only 5%.
-
- Disney’s California Adventure Park (Anaheim, United States): Water features operate in a closed-loop system, continuously filtering and reusing water. The park also collects and redirects rainwater to underground retention basins to replenish groundwater.
Arenas and Ice Sports:
- National Hockey League - Gallons for Goals (NHL): A program that restores 1,000 gallons of water for every goal scored during the regular season. Over the past decade, it has restored over 88 million gallons of water.
-
- Scotiabank Arena (Toronto, Canada): Home to the Maple Leafs and Raptors, the arena uses high-efficiency ice resurfacers and smart cooling systems to reduce both water and energy consumption.
-
- Centre Bell (Montreal, Quebec, Canada): Home to the Montreal Canadiens, the arena replaced over 250 sanitary installations with high-efficiency systems, reducing potable water use by 35% and optimizing urinal water supply for over 50% savings since 2007.
Water-Based Activities and Pools:
- Parc aquatique de Bromont (Bromont, Quebec, Canada): Recently invested $11 million to modernize facilities and optimize water use, including installing a high-efficiency filtration system to improve water quality and reduce overall consumption.
-
- Michigan Sauna Fest (Michigan, United States): A celebration of water’s role in wellness traditions, particularly through sauna culture and cold plunges, promoting sustainable approaches to hydrotherapy. AquaAction is proud to support this initiative.
Michigan Sauna Fest 2025
- Olympic Triathlons & Competitive Swimming: Events like Paris 2024 and Rio 2016 led to major water infrastructure projects, including $1.5B for Seine cleanup and lagoon restoration in Rio equivalent to 920 Olympic-size pools.
These examples showcase the growing commitment of the entertainment sector to sustainable water management, helping to preserve this vital resource.
A Path Forward: Transforming Water Use in the Entertainment Industry
With growing water strain, sustainable water management in entertainment is now essential. From concert venues to sports arenas, amusement parks to aquatic shows, every sector has a role to play in reducing consumption, improving efficiency, and embracing innovation.
At AquaAction, we believe that innovation, collaboration, and bold action are the keys to ensuring a water-secure future for the entertainment industry. By investing in sustainable solutions, supporting startups developing water-conscious technologies, and engaging industry leaders, we can help shape a new standard for water stewardship in entertainment.
How can you get involved?
Explore our programs, subscribe to our newsletter, and join the conversation to be part of the movement toward a more sustainable entertainment industry!
Want to learn more about how you can engage with AquaAction?
Subscribe to our newsletter to add water impact in your inbox!