Ann,
IMHO, bottled water is the way to go....others will probably disagree. I know that several of the newer homes have very sophisticated filtration systems, which quite likely do provide safe drinking water. As for me......I can't get beyond the visual of the things present in the water ( eg. bird poop, insects, etc.) before it is filtered. We even use bottled water for coffee and brushing our teeth. Call me neurotic 🙂

Bottled ... better safe, than sorry 😉

I use bottled water wherever I go. Even if it's to Florida.

Tap water isn't intended to be used for consumption. It is either cistern water, which comes from the sky, lands on the roof (where everything else lands, i.e.- bird/lizard drppoing, dust, dirt, ash, leaves, insects, etc.) and is collected in the cistern. True, some places use great filtration systems, but it still isn't intended for drinking. Or, it comes from WAPA, which is sea water that has been desalinated and which will taste 'funny' to most folks. Can tap water be consumed? Sure...just like water from a puddle on the street can be consumed, I mean dogs drink it, don't they? Do YOU want to drink it? Probably not.. Funny story: A good friend of mine used to drink his tap/cistern water and liked it so much that, when he worked on STJ, he would bottle it in the morning and take it from STT to work with him everyday. When he moved out of that apartment a few months later, his old lanlord decided to do some cistern repair and asked for his assistance. So, instead of just draining the cistern, they decided to pump it into the neighbor's cistern below...and, as he stood there with the hose, he said he was quite nauseated by what he saw coming out: Frogs, tadpoles, algae, etc.! He said, "I was bottling frog p*ss to take to work with me everyday...and I liked it! Haha! I only drink bottled water now!" Haha! What a hoot, huh? Haha!

Ann: I have to say that the cistern water in condominiums and hotels is carefully monitored and tested. It is NOT like drinking from a private cistern. Please ask the Crystal Cove folks.

One of the biggest gripes that locals on the islands have are recent arrivals and tourists who insist on trying to have things done differently from the way they have always been done-trying to change the islands to their preferences. 10-20 years ago there was no bottled water on STJ-actually you could get Perrier. You drank the cistern water, filtered or not. If you were concerned about about it , you boiled the water first. A good cistern is totally dark and as closed off as possible to minimize anything growing in it-you'd be amazed at how clean and clear it is.. Virtually any filtering system make the water perfectly acceptable.

That said, I, however, do boil the water first just to be extra cautious.

I get a great kick out of people who insist on using only bottled water, but nonetheless use the automatic ice makers on their fridges.

I do use ice cubes out of the ice maker-I figure the lime and rum will take care of any problems.