Okay, so lots of miscellaneous references over the years have led me to a train of thought. If I am stuck relying on a municipal water supply, is there any reason why I can't store some of that water? I mean, here's the deal: People use jugs, barrels, tanks, to store municipal supplied water at home. They run water from their faucet to fill these containers, then let them sit out in the garage for a time, then if they don't use the water they just toss it out, rinse the container, and refill it for another cycle. Seems a bit wasteful and inefficient to me.

So why not try this instead: Get 3 or 4 clean hot water tanks and hook them up so they are in-line with the supply. Then you can let them fill and when the tanks are topped off the water supply will flow through them, keeping the contents relatively fresh, yet still allow for the storage in the event service is lost. Seems to me that way you could have a spare couple hundred gallons sitting in the garage and have it ready to go if something happens.