Originally Posted by
Rowan
If you tour in Australia, be careful about using standalone taps/spigots. There is an increasing trend to pipe separately treated sewage which is clear water, but which isn't potable water fit for human consumption, to irrigate lawns in parks. Keep a watch for signs that say "Not Suitable for Drinking". The water also has a distinct odour.
I hadn't thought to mention this, but spigots with non-potable water exist in the US as well. Don't automatically assume that any outdoor spigot is safe. In the American West water used for purposes other than drinking, like irrigating crops, washing vehicles, or watering grass, may not be safe and may not be marked as such.
On the TA we ran into this a number of times. The first place to tip us off that maybe we should check before using was a town park in Mitchell Or which had spigots fed via a small pump that was supplied by a stream that had just run next to the town and contained whatever ran off from the town. They were used to water the grass. After that we generally asked before using spigots where there was reason to doubt. It turned out that it was not all that unusual for outdoor spigots to not be safe to drink from, but when we asked we were always pointed to a safe source.