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Sourcing water for drinking, cooking, and hygiene is a regular task for nomads. Fresh water can be obtained from spigots available in various places, from commercial water vendors, and by collection of water from natural sources. Before you obtain water, you'll need to know the difference between potable (drinkable) and non-potable (non-drinkable) water. Depending on your water source, you'll then need to filter and/or purify the water.
Apps for finding water
Spigots
When looking for places to find water, you'll want to be on the lookout for available water spigots. Note that many of these are privately owned so you should ask permission from the person who owns the water.
- homes of friends or relatives
- some rest areas
- some public parks, dog parks, or park visitor centers
- garden centers (standalone or attached to big box stores) may allow you to use their watering hose
- cemeteries
- some gas stations have water at the fuel pumps (ask for permission to use water from other locations)
- campgrounds and marinas
Transfer pumps
Transfer pumps are useful for moving water or other liquids from one place to another through a hose or tube.Continue reading …Water kiosks
Water kiosks usually sell fresh water for 20c-50c/gallon. The way the stations are set up may require the use of a bucket or other tall container to collect the vended water. Some search terms that may pay off: "water kiosk near me", "water vending near me", "ice vending near me", or "water fill near me".Continue reading …Bulk water
Sometimes "bulk water" is available for a flat fee. This is economical if one can take on a lot of water, but if you need only 2 gals it could be cheaper to buy them at the gallon price elsewhere. Some RV service stations will sell water, $5 is a common fee. The famous RV Pit Stop in Quartzsite has long fill hoses and sells R/O water for 25c/gal, but you can fill your tank with filtered well water for a flat $2-$4 depending on the season. Some small town water companies will have a public spigot priced (very cheaply) by the gallon or by flat rate. Towns with no plumbed water tend to have very cheap bulk water (like 20 gallons for 25 cents) but the hoses are very large and may not be useable for nomads.
Campground Day Use
Some private and public campgrounds have a "day use" fee which is much lower than the overnight rate. For example, a campground that charges $40 to stay overnight might only charge $5-$10 for day use. If the day use includes water filling and trash receptacles, it might the same price as using a water vending machine you might otherwise use when sourcing water. Fill your water, dump your trash, use the bathroom, etc.Continue reading …Dump stations
Natural water sources
