Hmmm. Am I missing something? Why would you ever pour water into the bowl?

I've not been in that situation, but I just had a look at my non-pressurised toilet. It keeps enough water in its upper tank for one flush. It is refilled via a ballcock. To test I held that up with my hand, flushed, and it worked. Then the tank was empty. I released the ballcock and it refilled for next time. So if my water was cut off I would flush normally and then refill the tank by hand. I wouldn't pour water into the bowl, only into the tank, and it wouldn't need to be done quickly.