USVI-On-Line

Hi.

Our group of 14 adults and 2 small children will be staying at the Tennis Villa and Cottage in St. John. These two properties have two cisterns. Because of the size of our group, we are planning to cook most of our meals at the villa and cottage. Is it safe to drink or cook with the cistern water?

Thanks!

First ask them if they have awater treatment system. We have never had a problem cooking with the water because you are heating it. Then again I have never had a problem drinking it.
Tom

I called Caribbean Villas and Resorts Management Co. and I spoke with a lady there in the office that told me she would never drink the cistern water, but she said they always eat every meal out. She said she brushes her teeth with the water, but doesn't drink it?? We are planning on cooking almost every meal. I asked her if she could check with the owner to see if they have some kind of filtering system and she said even with a filter, it would still be cistern water. She didn't seem too eager to call the owner to ask for me. There's no way for me to call the owner myself either, which is frustrating.

Thanks for replying.

Friends of mine own 2 villas one has a simple filter and I wouldn't drink the water the other has a reverse osmoases "SP" that is the same as alot of cities use in the US so it is fine. But if she doesn't ask all you can do is use bottle water for drinking we buy a couple of cases at starfish then refill them at STJ ice company after that.

I drank it for two years on STT 20 years ago, i lived. it's rain water and/or water trucked up to the villa. i have well water in my home here in Ohio, i will never go back to that crap the cities pipe to you. yuk !

Just be curtain Kirk you have you water tested from time to time we have had problems here with wells getting contaminated.

Hi Mfinn, I cook with the cistern water no problem, but we do buy bottled water for drinking. I know you have a large group, so if you are thinking about the cost of all that water, you can get gallon jugs refilled with treated water for 50 cents a gallon at the St. John Ice Company, which is in the lumberyard complex in Cruz Bay.

I agree cooking with cistern water should be just fine. However, for drinking and filling up the ice cube trays I use bottled water.

The villa we stayed in last time had a cartridge type filter under the sink. We drank the water for 10 days. It tasted fine & we had no health related problems.

Super busy today but I couldn't let this one get by.

Not sure what the folks at CV are telling you, but how else do you think everyone else on the island gets their water? Everyone from STT to STJ relies on cisterns to get the bulk of their water.

I've been heading down for over a decade now and I drink, bathe, brush teeth, cook etc. with the water that comes right out of the tap. I even refill water bottles and make ice with everything that comes out of the tap. NO problems.

One thing you do need to be aware of though is water consumption and conservation.

You need to remind folks in your group that 30 minute showers are not a good idea. Get wet, turn it off. Soap up and rinse.

Also, brushing teeth: don't leave the sink running while you brush.

Kitchen: don't just leave the faucet wide open. ANd make sure that it's off and not dripping.

Bathroom: Common saying- "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." Also, keep an eye out for runnning toilets and where your water is going.

Anything that's not collected in the cistern has to be trucked in and filled. Which takes time and gets expensive. They don't always dispatch water trucks the same day.

The Rental co is required to ensure that you have a full cistern when you arrive and if you run out, the rental co. can and will charge you to fill that puppy back up. Last time I heard a regular size cistern will run you several hundred dollars.

So it's good idea to give your group a water awareness briefing and some tips so that you don't end up running out and paying more than you ever thought you would for good ole H2O.

Totally agree with Gromit, it is absolutely safe in my experience. Actually, it never occured to me not to drink/use it. Even when we had our 3 year old along I didn't hesitate to use it for cooking or drinking. She didn't drink much water - more of a milk/juice girl, but none of us has ever had a problem.

Gromits makes some very good points. i remember the first time i ran out of water in the middle of a shower, shampoo in my hair. it was three days before i was able to have water trucked up to my house.

Look at the gutters/ roof of the villa where you are staying! Are they pretty clean? Full of mold? That's where the water in your cistern is coming from.Make your call based on what you see. Cartridge filter systems are dubious, at best!
Discretion is the better part of valor. Just this old Bohemian's take.

We will continue to buy our water....thank you very much. The very thought of rat poop, lizard pee,(Do lizards pee? ) bird droppings, etc. is just unappealing to me. Like everything else, it's all a matter of personal preference. I'm sure that you folks are correct in saying it is completely safe to drink...I simply can't get beyond the visuals. ....mia

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