Water!?!?!

pbmaniac2000 · Post by **pbmaniac2000** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:11 pm

Ok so how do most people get water to burning man? Do you fill up colapsible jugs all the way back at home? Or is there some where you can stop and fill up?

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:37 pm

I fill 'em up at home for a couple of reasons.

1) I figure water is more important out there where its dryer, and so I'd personally prefer to not drain any off more than is already being drained.

2) You could avoid this by purchasing jugs of water from a store, but depending on when you pass through, it could be scarce.

Oddly enough, last year a couple of our campmates opted to purchase water in Winnemucca and, when they did, found it had been bottled in the Twin Cities where they'd just come from.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:40 pm

I spend the night in Reno and fill up collapsible jugs in my motel room. You can also buy water in Reno. Some people say they get free water at RV stops, but that may be because they paid to stay there. Twin Cities Surplus will sell you a filled water barrel of various sizes (water weighs 8 lbs/gallon, so factor that in).

We buy a lot of water from the supermarket when it's on sale and bring collapsible jugs to fill from our motel room.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:26 am

Easiest is to just buy the 2.5 gallon suitcases in Reno (assuming you're passing through there) or the big grocery store off I-80, one stop East of where you would normally pull off to get to BM. They're about $1/gallon and some of the bigger stores such as the K-Mart in Reno leave them in the cardboard box two-packs for easy stacking.

I could have sworn I saw a list of places in Reno that supplied water to people with containers somewhere in the first timer's guide, but it's been a while since I looked there. If you don't already have containers, I wouldn't buy them just for BM. One use per year isn't enough to recoup the cost and they can develop bad tastes.

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:48 am

We try to bring at least one case of individual bottles to chill and give away to visitors in camp. Not possible for everyone, but nice if you can.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:55 am

If your looking for just garden hose water.... There is a person on this list in Reno that has offered his water hose. This would be a good trick for bath and. I use filtered water to drink/cook when I travel. Reason the deep wells have more minerals that my body is not use to. I don't want to spend the whole BM doing bm.

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:53 am

Yeah, I fill up at home and drive it down. At eight pounds per gallon, and over 700 miles, it's heavy and reduces fuel efficiency, no doubt. But it reduces my anxiety over hitting the sources of water while they are open while I'm bombing down to the burn. The piece of mind in having everything I need when I leave my door is worth the work and expense of carrying all the water I'll want with me when I take off.

Ron

nogganoodle · Post by **nogganoodle** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:11 am

At eight pounds per gallon

Bloody hell. I've got to get 30 gallons in my car

I hope the car will move!

MrMullen · Post by **MrMullen** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:39 am

There are companies that will sell you water in Reno. You just call up and make a reservation and they will hold whatever amount of water you need. Our group did this last year and we bought a 100 gallons and then hauled it out to to the Playa.

We came up from Southern California, so buying the water in Reno probably saved us a bunch of money instead of hauling it all the way up from San Diego.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:16 am

nogganoodle wrote:
At eight pounds per gallon
Bloody hell. I've got to get 30 gallons in my car I hope the car will move!

/
That's about one Salem chick. Poor car

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:38 pm

My gear trailer has a potable water tank installed, it's about 20 gallons and I'm bringing a couple extra carboys of water (5 gallon bottles).

We got the best water here so I bring filtered water from home. The place I'm keeping the trailer at has underground aquifer water on tap!

Mr.? · Post by **Mr.?** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:50 pm

I hope the line dosn't get too long at crystalspringswater.org/spring_water.htm
I'm filling up a 425 gallon water tank there for less than .40 per gallon, and I know they have a large well system for as much fresh water as you can haul.
I know this is an exessive option, but maybe someone out there needs a lot of water?
I think the best option is to get the two and a half gallon suitcase thing-ie-ma-gigers.

Tiara · Post by **Tiara** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:11 pm

I'm not a fan of the collapsible water jugs--you can't stack anything on them. And even though I'm careful, I've always had at least one leak en route to the playa.

I bring bulk water in hard plastic 5-8 gallon containers. Drinking water I bring in 1 gallon jugs or 2.5 gallon "suitcases" that I buy at the grocery store--watch for sales!

pbmaniac2000 · Post by **pbmaniac2000** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:05 am

Yeah collapsibles are not my favorite either. Thats why I am bringing our panyards from camping. They each hold like 40 gallons or something. So i will fill up both of them. Somewhere.

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:13 am

I always go through a lot of gatorade during ren faires out here in CA, so I just save up the gallon jugs to hold water in. Nice built in handle, easily portable, stackable, and never had one leak.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 2:28 am

There are several sources of water closer to the burn.
You can get water at the ice plant in Reno
You just have to look around. In fact, you might even be able to get someone to let you fill a barrel from their hose.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:50 am

I have large cats. There sand box sand come in jugs of 2 or 3 gallon. They are made of tough plastic and work just fine. Small enough to stuff in corners and easyer to pour from. I use three gallon a day on the playa. Find a friend with cats.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:27 am

Freeze a case of 1-liter water bottles before you go.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:54 am

Louise and I buy the 2.5 gallong boxes as they go on sale all year round (earthquakes, Burning Man - you never know when you'll need water). We bought some from Smart & Final one year, and the boxes leaked. They crinkled from their own weight and the crinkles had pin holes. Buy some and test - they were just sitting in the garage waiting to be taken to BM.

At 8 lbs per gallon, I'm not hauling around more than 5 gallons in a single container - your age will vary.

We freeze old two-liter soda bottles filled with water and use them instead of ice. No water in the cooler as the ice melts, and very refreshing to drink the melt-water on a hot day.

I agree that those collapsible jugs aren't the best. We have had one leak, and some others get their spout twisted open on the way, spilling some water. But the collapsed containers weigh much less as we climb the Sierras from San Mateo, and we want all the extra water we can carry. We use the water from them first, then hit the store-bought water. Any 2.5 gallon containers we don't use go back in our earthquake supply kit.

I'm comfortable that no one solution is the one true solution for everyone. I've got a torn rotator cuff and a torn muscle in my lower back that override all other considerations. The weight of 5 gallons is my maximum.

I also figure everything will leak, so I spread out my eggs in different baskets so the speak. That way, one leaky container, or one contaminated container, isn't going to ruin my time at the Burn.

Again, everyone has their own way that works for them, and I'm always interested in learning a new, better way.

Post by **trilobyte** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:27 pm

LeChatNoir, Ron, and any others traveling great distances with their water for the trip....

Relax... Reno (and neighboring communities) have plenty of water. Don't get me wrong, keep some water in your vehicle at all times (in case you break down you'll want to have water while you wait for help), and don't wait until you get to those last couple places before the playa.

But Reno's a fairly decent sized city, with probably a hundred grocery stores, plus Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Costco, etc. They also know about Burning Man - while the odd gas station near the freeway may be cleaned out, the places that normally sell water should have plenty.

Even if you were buying hundreds of gallons, you're not putting a strain on the local supply. Buying it in Reno not only will help your fuel economy, but it will help the local economy as well. And while you might have gotten a rocking deal on water back home, you pay a much bigger price by hauling it (as mentioned, 8 pounds per gallon) all the way from wherever you started. I'm sure there's a pollution factor as well (from burning more gas to get there), but that's probably inconsequential.

If you're coming from the east (as LeChatNoir is doing... Kentucky, that's quite a haul!), it's almost worth your while to go the 20 minutes or so past the Pyramid Lake exit and get to the outskirts of Reno (if there aren't any decent sized cities along the way).

~Trilo~

Xta_G · Post by **Xta_G** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 8:54 am

Can anyone suggest a place to purchase water on the way down from Portland, Oregon? We won't be passing through Reno, its on the wrong side...

X.

hunter S · Post by **hunter S** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 9:12 am

X, You can pick up water in Alturas,CA (small town) but burn friendly! or Susanville if you go down & across that way, susanville is a biger town.

hunter S · Post by **hunter S** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 9:20 am

X, oop's forgot Susanville is south of the turn, unless your coming in on the 44 hwy but their are also some campgrounds around Altuas with good water.

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:40 am

Home Depot stores in Portland have 5 gallon jugs(rigid/deposit/returnable).

About $1 a gallon

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 8:48 pm

trilobyte wrote:LeChatNoir, Ron, and any others traveling great distances with their water for the trip....

Relax... Reno (and neighboring communities) have plenty of water...

If you're coming from the east (as LeChatNoir is doing... Kentucky, that's quite a haul!), it's almost worth your while to go the 20 minutes or so past the Pyramid Lake exit and get to the outskirts of Reno (if there aren't any decent sized cities along the way).

~Trilo~

Thanks for the info. Eases my mind a bit, but I still feel guilty about it (like when I hear radio stories about western rivers being reduced to a trickle by the time the get to the sea) and haul it anyways. But that's just me... I'm a worrier.

Besides... 30 gallons x 8lbs is only 240lbs. No different than giving a decent sized guy a ride out there. And my truck is a diesel, so it makes no difference to it really. And believe it or not, I get around 17MPG on the trip out. Not too bad for a full size truck grossing out at over 6000lbs gear and all.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 9:03 am

Kitty, it's not like you're planting a yard or building a swimming pool or growing rice! We have a non-arid lifestyle that we imported into this arid place.

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:54 am

trilobyte wrote:LeChatNoir, Ron, and any others traveling great distances with their water for the trip....

Relax... Reno (and neighboring communities) have plenty of water.

Yeah, but I don't go through Reno and generally don't hit anyplace within 200 miles of BRC until after 9 or 10 pm, when all of those water spots are closed. To each their own, but I like my illusions of control and leaving my door ready to hit playa gives me one. :)

Besides I've become a water snob since installing the filter in the sink and the big ass RV I borrow for each year's trip burns what it burns regardless of an extra 200 or so pounds of water....

Ron

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:54 am

Last year we filled up outside Reno at someone's house. They had a spigot and a hose and when one turned the spigot, out came potable city water! We even offered then a few bucks to cover the water (I think we got something close to 200 gallons).

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:31 pm

Since I am coming from Wisconsin, if I find myself in Reno I've overshot my target by a little bit. For people coming from the East, where would a good spot be to get water?

Thanks.

B.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 8:46 am

theCryptofishist wrote:Kitty, it's not like you're planting a yard or building a swimming pool or growing rice! We have a non-arid lifestyle that we imported into this arid place.

Yeah... but little things add up, even if only in my mind. I guess it comes from living for so long on a well. Only in the past few years have I had that magical thing called "city water".

When you live on a well, at least where I have lived, you must be mindful because you can run it dry. Its a scary thing to turn on that tap and get nothing and know that it will now be that way for a long while until the aquifer fills back up. I've seen them go dry for an entire summer.