> One of the 2.5 gallon containers of water was nearly empty when it was pulled out.

You're lucky. Louise and I buy those for safe water after and earthquake, and we keep them in the garage. We use them at Burning Man every year, then buy another set. Those containers fail on a regular basis. We have at least one fail every other year (out of 10 or 12), and they leak all over the garage floor. We have another one leak in the van every few years, wetting whatever's around it. Really aggravating getting to the campsite and finding something was soaked on the drive there.

The packaging is made well enough to get it to the store and on to the shelf, but that's about it. We store them with the spigots up, because that's where most failures are, but they'll develop cracks just about anywhere there's a crease in plastic.