Distilled, Spring, Tap? Does every church make make/bless their own holy water or does it get shipped from some Holy Water Hub Central?
Any water will do. However, there are places of pilgrimage such as Lourdes where blessed spring water is a popular souvenir because of the numerous accounts told about its curative properties.
Catholic checking in.
Reasonably clean tap water is fine. As long as a priest blesses it, the water is holy.
Now then, as a practical matter, churches avoid having foul-smelling or cloudy water in the holy-water receptacles. If the local tap water is not up to snuff, store-brand distilled water will suffice. Nothing fancy.
I once found a dead centipede drowned in the HW at my church. I told Father Jeff about it, and he took care of the problem quickly.
Centipede-free holy water is a minimum, I guess.
They can use any kind of water, as long as they boil the hell out of it. 
Wasn’t this a scene in Dune?
Back in the 70s when I was an altar boy, we had a blessed tap from which we could draw holy water, said tap having been blessed when the church was built.
IIRC, the blessed tap had a holy drain which drained directly into the ground rather than the sewer.
Catholic, Ex-alter boy here (now atheist.)
Our holy water always had some oil and/or salts in it. Never was straight water.
Interesting: Every year, priests trek down to the Atlantic ocean here in New Jersey and other east coast spots, to bless the ocean. Right behind them are crowds standing there to scoop up the water into various containers. They scurry off with their blessed water…very pleased to have scooped it up.
We head to the shore every weekend to my in-laws house, one block from the Atlantic. Well, it was that time of year again…when the priest makes his trek to bless the ocean (because it must wear off apparently).
My mother-in-law asked me to get her some blessed water. Well, after the last mass, when the priest makes his trek to the ocean, it’s about 12.45pm. It’s also about a mile to the church, where the priest heads out and down the the beach.
Well, I don’t budge. I never flinched. My mother in law asks why I’m not scurrying to follow the priest. I told her we were going to the beach when our kids are up from their naps, probably around 1.30 and I’d get some water then. I also asked why in her previous umpteen trips to the beach she never scooped up some ocean water. She was not happy, and she didn’t have an answer that made sense anyway.
Far as I am concerned, the whole freakin Atlantic is blessed and re-blessed annually. You want some holy water, you got it.
from the Catholic Encyclopedia on Holy Water
Well, under the entry on oils, it makes specific reference to ‘ordinary water’ is sufficient for sacrements…and that it need not be blessed. (I was trying to figure out why our water was mixed with oil)
Doesn’t seem that there is much of a requirement from what I can tell…ordinary water is good enough for scarements, so the blessing of it isn’t even required, let alone a need for a particular type of water.
(Yes, a drain runs under Catholic churches. Even the water that is used to clean the chalices is dumped in this special drain)
Former Altar Boy here. Yes, I believe they use ordinary tap water. Please note that the holy water that is blessed at Easter gets holy oil poured into it and the Paschal candle dunked into it. This should give you second thoughts about drinking it. (But obviously not all of the Holy Water is generated in that one ceremony every year.)
As for the “sacred dup” under the Church, it’s true. I’ve noticed (and noted here in the past) that the Church treats “holy” items the way nuclear physicists treat radioactive items. They handle it carefully, and give it its own repository, and act as if you can “contaminate” another item with holiness. The water that’s used to clean the bits of blassed communion wafer from the priest’s fingers is carefully saved and sent to this sacred dump, for instance.
more…
"…The Meaning of the Salt.
(The use of salt is optional in today’s liturgy and blessing.)
Why does the Church use salt in holy water? Because it was a Jewish custom, and because of the symbolical meaning of salt. Just as water is used for cleansing and for quenching fire, so salt is used to preserve from decay. Therefore the Church combines them in this sacramental, to express the various reasons why it is used – to help to wash away the stains of sin, to quench the fire of our passions, to preserve us from relapses into sin. Moreover, salt is regarded as a symbol of wisdom. Our Lord called His Apostles “the salt of the earth,” because by them the knowledge of the Gospel was to be spread over the world. The custom of using salt is a very ancient one, and is traced by some to the second or third century…"
Funny story. One time in my hometown there was a ceremony to bless some more holy water. My sister and one of her friends were the “servers” (PC for altargirls) and my family went to mass. Afterwards we were talking to the priest in the lobby when my sister walked up and asked where the water was supposed to be put. The priest told her there was a container and pointed toward the room. She and her friend went in and came back out a couple of minutes later and said they’d poured the water in. The priest went in and found the container empty.
Turned out they’d poured it down a drain.
The priest wasn’t upset. He laughed about it and said he’d just bless some more water after everybody was gone.
Maybe on special occasions they can import water from the Ganges, which is the holiest of all, even though it’s contaminated with all sorts of pathogens.
Holy Pathogens!
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Simple answer - tap.
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Official answer - “pure water” according to the rite for baptism. IOW, no ginger ale or beer. And should be “clean” for the reason of health and hygeine.
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Oil in the water? Not any more. At least, not in the Latin Rite of the RCC. At least, not in the US. Oil is not mentioned in any of the rituals for blessing of water or for the celebration of baptism. If it had been done in the past (or is occuring in the Eastern Rites or other countries), it was most likely to symbolize “baptism with water and the holy spirit,” The oil representing the anointing with the Holy Spirit.
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Salt in the water? Not supposed to. At least, not in the Latin Rite since none of the current ritual texts or instructions mention it (and especially since the instruction specifically mentions pure water). Although, this was a much more widespread practice than mixing in oil – and thus, still done in places. As mentioned, salt is a purifying element which helps keep water from becoming stale with bugs and germs, which makes for great symbolism and reference to Gospel teaching about being salt of the earth.
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Candle in the water? Yes, the Paschal[sup]*[/sup] Candle, specifically at the Easter Vigil when there is baptism of adults (although, it’s optional). Since the Paschal Candle is a symbol of Christ himself, it’s base is immersed in the water three times at the blessing of the water in order to, well, in order to bless the water even more so.
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Who may bless water? Any priest or deacon. (Side note: even in cases of impending death where a lay person may baptize, that lay person does not bless the water, but simply uses regular, unblessed water.)
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When may they bless water? Technically, anytime, and by simply saying, “I (or “May Almighty God…”) bless this water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Preferably, only during the celebration of baptism, or at a liturgy (worship service) where the water will be used to bless the people or significant items (like a new school or religious articles). And preferrably, using a longer formulaic blessing prayer.
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What’s this about a holy water tap and sink? Hopefully, one can understand that people who regard holy water and the particulate remains of holy communion as objects of veneration wouldn’t want to simply dump these things down any old drain and have it commingle in a sewer with human offal. And so, many sacristies (church preparation rooms) are equipped with a sink whose drain goes directly into the earth (a dry well). This is where used holy water goes, and the run-off of washed sacred communion vessels. Often, this sink is part of a double sink unit with a regular tap of hot and cold water. Holy water does not came out of this tap – never did, never will.
However, some churches have a large tub of nice-looking stainless steel filled with holy water which has a tap for people to use in order to fill containers to bring holy water home with them.
Holy water may also be properly disposed by pouring it out on earthen ground.
Peace.
I’m thirsty.
[sup]*[/sup]paschal is the adjectival form of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew). The Paschal Candle is also known as the Christ Candle or the Easter Candle.
When I was an alter boy, they sometimes poured leftover communion wine down the special sink. Same reason as the holy water: you don’t want it to end up in the sewers.