# Stocking up on drinking water in the middle of nowhere **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 6, 2021, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792 "2021-07-06T06:43:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/21 "2021-07-07T22:18:38Z")
I use these all the time, it’s cheaper than buying water front the grocery stores and tastes better than tap water. I’ll buy it for straight drinking, I use tap water for cooking, mixing, and anything else where the water isn’t the only thing I’m drinking. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/22 "2021-07-07T22:59:53Z")
In one of the saddest ironies of my life, the well was sunk through a iron vein that makes the water unsuitable for drinking/cooking. I use a lot of bottled water. The property and that of the neighbors used to be a small state park…that people visited to stock up on drinking water. Sigh ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/23 "2021-07-07T23:35:03Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Maybe the Highway 26 water is like that. Maybe these **people are stocking up on water they like** … Yup, this is it. That particular spring (Sunset Springs) is an old favorite. Some people like the taste, some are convinced the natural minerals will cure whatever ails you. Clatsop County supposedly tests it routinely and has said it’s the “purest water in Oregon” according to some rando on the internet. Take it for what it’s worth. Here’s an article from a few years ago with comments from people who know and love that particular water station. > **[The history of the drinking fountain on the Oregon Coast Range: Tom Hallman...](https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2014/04/the_history_of_the_drinking_fo.html)** > > Next time I'm headed back from the Oregon Coast, I'm going to stop and fill out a couple jugs of this special water. When I get back to town, I'm going to hold a blind taste test -- comparing it to Portland water and bottled water from the grocery... ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/24 "2021-07-08T00:49:45Z")
I’ve passed this watering hole a few times and there are usually people filling up. It’s off the beaten path in rural TN. > **[Woodbury Spring, Woodbury, Tennessee, TN 37190 - Find A Spring](https://findaspring.com/spring/locations/north-america/usa/woodbury-spring-woodbury-tennessee-tn-37190/)** > > Woodbury Spring, Woodbury, Tennessee, TN 37190 Public Drinking Spring - Get directions, water quality reports, and more insights at FindASpring.com ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/25 "2021-07-08T02:57:58Z")
Our tap water actually tastes pretty good, so it’s a little perplexing around here. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/26 "2021-07-08T03:24:48Z")
here in my area of la county’s high desert, the water taste like it comes straight from the swimming pool so I have arrowhead water delivered to me sparklets style … its 9 something for a 5 gallon jug … and since it was owned by nestle they have more than just water > **[Bottled Water & Beverage Delivery Service | ReadyRefresh](https://www.readyrefresh.com/en/)** > > Get your favorite brands of bottled water, sparkling water, and other beverages delivered right to your home or office. Browse our selection and sign up today. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/27 "2021-07-08T03:33:12Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > As for RVs filling up, filling your fresh water tank adds a lot of weight to your rig. If you’re heading to the coast from Portland for the weekend, might as well stop there when you’re almost to your destination and fill up with water you know will taste good. One has to bring water to Burning Man. The site recommends 1.5 gallons a day. Living in Arizona I bring 3. That weighing in excess of 400 pounds I’d fill up at a water filter place in Reno that charged 20-cents a gallon and be really careful driving the 90-odd miles to Black Rock City – the Suburban definitely handled differently. Lately the water plant in Gerlach, eight miles south, has started offering water at 40-cents a gallon, a difference of about ten bucks. Between feeling safer those 90 miles and knowing they’re making about 80% of their annual budget selling to Burners, I fill up there, now. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/28 "2021-07-08T03:57:41Z")
Matrimony Spring–coming out of the cliff face along the Colorado River just outside of Moab had some pretty good tasting water. It was closed off for awhile because of coliform (not e coli) bacteria but I think it’s still flowing. I always figured that being filtered by almost 1000 feet of sandstone would be enough to take care of any impurities. Near Mono Lake, just up the hill from Lee Vining on CA120 (at the Ranger Station) there’s a turn out with a water tap with clean water from Lee Vining Creek. We always make a point of stopping to fill up whatever water containers we have with “sweet Sierra water”. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/29 "2021-07-08T04:20:30Z")
A town near me exists because of a tiny spring it was built around. The town is very small now, but used to be a significant resort, with people travelling from hundreds of miles around to drink the water. The biggest hotel in the state at the time was built there to accommodate visitors. > **[Williamston preserves its heritage at Mineral Spring Park - Anderson SC Living](https://andersonscliving.com/anderson-county-towns/williamston/williamston-preserves-its-heritage-at-mineral-spring-park/)** > > A natural spring with medicinal qualities inspired the name of an Upstate town founded in 1842 as Mineral Springs. Renamed Williamston 10 years later, the town continues to honor its heritage of healing water. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792/30 "2021-07-08T08:52:49Z")
In contrast to all the above, there are hot springs with stinky sulfurous water that nobody would want to drink. But people come from miles around to soak in hot tubs full of stinky sulfurous water because that’s supposed to be healthful? The little Napa Valley town of Calistoga, sitting in the foothills of a volcano, is famous for that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stocking-up-on-drinking-water-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/945792.md?page=1)