Water

equinox · Post by **equinox** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:13 am

Good Morning. I normally drink a lot of water which is especially important in the Virgin Islands. Is the drinking water at most villas safe and healthy to drink or is bottled water recommended?

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:18 am

I buy water. Buy a case of water or even just a gallon and then bring it to STJ Ice to refill. Super affordable. The water in the villa is captured rain water and then it sits in a cistern. When I lived on island I drank the water at my apartment because I knew that we had a great filtration system, but not knowing what they have at the villa is not worth the risk for me.

djmom · Post by **djmom** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:08 am

Our experience has been if you ask the villa company they will tell you whether or not you can drink the water.

Most of the time we have asked they have been able to tell us what kind of system is used in the house. Many houses have pretty advanced systems and we felt perfectly comfortable drinking the water.

augie · Post by **augie** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:22 am

djmom - It's pretty funny to read the last line in your post then the line in your signature!

pipanale · Post by **pipanale** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:30 am

The 2 houses we've rented advised us not to drink the water. One had a separate filter system in the kitchen, but upon reflection, we realized it was probably worse than the tap water.

I 2nd what X said: Go to St John Ice. This time, we'll buy a few of those orange-label bottles the first day and then make stops at StJI nearly every day.

Talk about a business model! What's the profit margin at StjI for gallons of water? You go in...turn on a wee little hose, fill-er up, leave an appropriate number of quarters on the table and leave. It's a fantastic system and something about that place just makes me smile. I love the noisy clamor of their operation. I suspect the wee-un will enjoy it next summer too.

djmom · Post by **djmom** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:45 am

augie wrote:djmom - It's pretty funny to read the last line in your post then the line in your signature!

LOL! Very observant!

Diana2 · Post by **Diana2** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:33 am

Yes, some house have filtration systems. Ask where the filter is so you can check it out yourself. We stayed at one house last year that had a filtration system but the filter looked disgustingly discolored. Who know how long ago it had been changed. Find out when it was changed last and if it looks gross, ask the agent to change it ASAP.

If there're no filtration system then definitely stop at the water/ice place in the Lumberyard. Last trip we bought 2 cases of water and refilled bottles as needed. It's a good deal.

Chet · Post by **Chet** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:48 am

If the refridgerator is fairly new and has water in the door - drink that.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:14 am

We tend to use the house water to make ice and brush our teeth, unless there is a reason not to. We also buy ice and gallon jugs of water for most of our uses. We don't drink tap water at home, so it's business as usual.

You can get really OCD on this subject, but the bottom line is that none of us have ever had any kind of problems with water from any of the dozen or so villas and condos we have stayed in. Let me tell you, some of those filters were nasty.

Cheers, RickG

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:51 am

RickG wrote: Let me tell you, some of those filters were nasty.
Cheers, RickG

That was my first thought when villa treatment systems were mentioned! If other things slip by the management company's notice, I am sure there are filters WAY past the suggested change date.

I asked a couple residents about this over the past 15+ years and had answers ranging from "sure, drink it, no problem, the gunk settles to the bottom of the cistern" to "heck no, not with all the birds/lizards cr*pping on the roof."

Personally, I use ice made from cistern water (for drinks) but I drink bottled water on island. This makes absolutely no sense. My only rational is that my drinks contain so much alcohol, it is bound to kill any nasty germs in the water.

seagrape · Post by **seagrape** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:49 pm

We buy water and ice at our villa. We bought a really expensive UV filter system, but haven't had the time to install it yet! We'll install it at Christmastime. Then it will be safe to drink the water after it went through the UV filter and the filter in the refrigerator.

When in doubt...buy it!

Have fun,
Seagrape

seagrape · Post by **seagrape** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:49 pm

We buy water and ice at our villa. We bought a really expensive UV filter system, but haven't had the time to install it yet! We'll install it at Christmastime. Then it will be safe to drink the water after it went through the UV filter and the filter in the refrigerator.

When in doubt...buy it!

Have fun,
Seagrape

Beachboy · Post by **Beachboy** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:59 pm

Where does the bottled water come from? Is it WAPA water, well water, desal water. I have seen bottled water sold under the name virgin water but was never to sure of the origin of the bottled water.

jenrale · Post by **jenrale** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:02 pm

We buy water too, but I'm thinking that the cistern water can't be all that bad. After all, if rubbing your eyes can transfer cold germs, then if there was real nasties in the water, they would 'get you' while showering, or brushing teeth, or washing hands. Maybe there are some things in it, but I consider that to be immune system exercise.

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 5:19 pm

The only villa we've rented was Luna Vista. The owners assured us of the quality of the filtration system in the house. Then they pointed out that they live up stairs and drink from the same water supply. I think that's a very good endorsement of the water supply.

JIM

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