# Boston Dopers! Drinking The Water? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994 "2010-05-02T01:36:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/21 "2010-05-03T16:02:27Z")
I checked various sites, and the boiling is not so bad: all you need to do is get the water to a full rolling boil and you’re fine. The hard part is _remembering._ I may have doomed myself by automatically brushing my teeth first thing this morning. ☹ Goodbye cruel world! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/22 "2010-05-03T16:48:09Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I checked various sites, and the boiling is not so bad: all you need to do is get the water to a full rolling boil and you’re fine. Boil it for at least one minute. You know, I’ve been brushing my teeth with the tap water. If I suddenly stop posting in a couple of days, you’ll know that was a bad idea. But I’ve just heard that everything might be back to normal by Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/23 "2010-05-03T17:12:32Z")
The missus ended up buying two cases of 20oz bottles and two gallon jugs of water yesterday, when she heard the tap water might not be safe for _hand washing_, and that it could be a week or two before proper service is restored. I don’t know who we should round up and shoot first - the hoarders or the fear mongers. Although, after a moments reflection, I suspect it’s the same folks in both groups. Anyways, it sounds like things will be back to normal in a day or two. Thank goodness. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/24 "2010-05-03T17:30:21Z")
They were telling us that the water’s fine for hand washing and bathing. But here at work they say it’s _not_ OK for hand washing, and have put out bottles of hand sanitizer in the bathrooms. That sounds messed up. Heck, I go swimming in outdoor lakes, and when I’m camping I’ll wash my hands in them. It’s not as if raw sewage got diverted into the Boston water supply. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/25 "2010-05-03T17:35:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > It starts with a trip to Stop & Shop. What aisle do they keep the canned squirrel bits in heavy bird poop sauce in? Sorry, you’ll never find that at Stop & Shop. You can either try the new H-Mart in Burlington (which is awesome BTW), but you’ll need to be able to read Korean. Or you can head to your nearest DeMoulas and look for the bright red “Managers Special - Half Price” sticker, which is coincidentally also covering the expiration date of the item. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/26 "2010-05-03T17:40:33Z")
I went shopping at Shaws and it looked like a disaster zone. No shopping carts available as people bought pallets of water. A couple bizarre freakouts here and there. Later in the day in Dorchester, a guy at a traffic light was selling bottled water for $1 “Drink bottled water, not sewer water!” Gotta love catastrophe entrepreneurship. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/27 "2010-05-03T18:26:34Z")
So how do I clean the rest of my body without getting my hands wet? Do I wash my hands in bottled water, then put on surgical gloves and take a shower, or what? I’m coping okay, so far. Was at the Shaw’s on Comm. Ave late Saturday evening and the bottled water aisle was cleaned out. Boiled some water and filled up the bottles that I use on my bike and at the gym. Trying to plan meals to use as few dishes as possible. It’s not the end of the world. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/28 "2010-05-03T18:34:50Z")
> [@AmericanMaid](#): > > Later in the day in Dorchester, a guy at a traffic light was selling bottled water for $1 “Drink bottled water, not sewer water!” Gotta love catastrophe entrepreneurship. Is he making a profit that way? I don’t think I could get a bottle for under $1.25. I’d definitely take that deal. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/29 "2010-05-03T18:44:31Z")
My water at home is from a different source and therefore fine. For a nominal fee, I will allow my fellow Dopers access to it. It is a huge pain here at work, though. Mostly in regards to the lack of available coffee. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/30 "2010-05-03T19:50:17Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > My water at home is from a different source and therefore fine. For a nominal fee, I will allow my fellow Dopers access to it. How nominal? I might pay it just to drop by and say hello. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/31 "2010-05-03T19:52:19Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > How nominal? I might pay it just to drop by and say hello. Why would you pay? Robots don’t need water anyway… unless you’re one of those old steampunk models. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/32 "2010-05-03T19:57:08Z")
For any of you that have drank the boiled lake water…how does it taste? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/33 "2010-05-03T20:07:21Z")
[Re: showering with current Boston tapwater] > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > It’s no more dangerous than swimming in one of the lakes the water is now coming from, put it that way. Actually, I believe a lot less dangerous. My understanding from news reports is that they’re chlorinating the reservoir water, but it just hasn’t been super-thoroughly tested. There’s a chance there’s a glitch in the chlorination, but not that likely. So for anything to bother you, a) some bug would have to be present in the moderately-protected reservoirs (no legal swimming, some level of development protection); b) it would have to somehow escape the chlorination; c) you’d have to injest it and d) it would slip past your immune system. ---
**Author:** ![Anaptyxis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anaptyxis/32/3171_2.png) [@Anaptyxis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaptyxis)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/34 "2010-05-03T21:33:23Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > For any of you that have drank the boiled lake water…how does it taste? I was kind of hoping for a delicate fishy odor, but no luck. I did chill it thoroughly, though, which probably dulls the nose. What’s the proper glass shape in which to properly appreciate boiled pondwater? For the record, Cambridge tap water tastes like crap. Then again, I suppose there’s the upside of not being laden with goose poop, squirrel gizzards, and other various microbes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/35 "2010-05-03T21:59:20Z")
So… are any of you considering keeping some extra water around in the future? Or is that still something only crazy survivalists would do? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/36 "2010-05-03T22:11:36Z")
> [@anaptyxis](#): > > what’s the proper glass shape in which to properly appreciate boiled pondwater? That’s really good! Seriously, a nice piece of Reidel stemware, probably a chardonnay/white burgundy glass. I hear boiled pond water is pretty full bodied and buttery. Might want a squeeze of lemon, too. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/37 "2010-05-03T22:16:42Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > So… are any of you considering keeping some extra water around in the future? Or is that still something only crazy survivalists would do? It’s pretty sensible to keep at least a bottle or two of potable water on-hand. Start stockpiling and you’re verging into crazy territory, but my rule of thumb (after having had several bad experiences with the water being totally shut off for some reason or another is to keep enough on-hand to get through my morning routine. I can go out and buy some I wake up and the water main has broken overnight (which has happened), but it’s awfully nice to be able to brush your teeth and wash your face and have a cup of coffee before doing so. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/38 "2010-05-03T23:41:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > How nominal? I might pay it just to drop by and say hello. Or we could, you know, arrange a Dopefest. By the water or something. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/39 "2010-05-04T00:16:32Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Or we could, you know, arrange a Dopefest. Well, you’ve missed the last couple, and don’t think we didn’t notice. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-dopers-drinking-the-water/537994/40 "2010-05-04T10:11:46Z")
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