On 6/27/2014 5:16 PM, DannyD. wrote:
Do you have experience or ideas for trucking potable water to a residence?

We haven't had rain in a year or so, and some of my neighbor's wells are running
dry. They asked me to figure out an efficient way to get water to them because
the bulk water delivery companies are really lousy on service & costs.

The San Jose Water Company sells water out of the fire hydrants at $2.70 per
CCF (i.e., $2.71 per 748 gallons) after we rent a "portable meter", either a
1-inch portable meter (output is a male 3/4-inch garden hose thread) at
$29.48/month, or a 3-inch portable meter (output is a male 2-1/2 inch firehose
thread) at $176.98 a month.

The returnable deposit for the portable meter is $400 for the 1-inch meter,
and $1,550 for the 3-inch meter, which includes the hydrant wrench & hoses
(although they suggest hoses from Royal Brass at http://rbisj.com).

It turns out that most, if not all, of the bulk water delivery companies
use this method to obtain their water, so, what you're paying for is the
trucking.

Hertz Equipment Rental in San Jose rents a flatbed, which requires only a
normal class C drivers license, for $245/day, which will hold about 8,000
pounds (about 1,000 gallons of water in a plastic tank). The first 50 miles
are free, and then it's 25 cents a mile thereafter.

They don't recommend the 2,000 gallon 'water truck' which requires a Class A
(commercial) drivers license, and costs $459/day, plus 30 cents a mile, because
there is no telling what water was in there prior, so you can't drink from it.

A quick estimate for the costs & logistics for a day's rental might be something like:
a) $5 for each 1,000 gallons of water from SJWC
b) $50 for 1 day rental of the 2-1/2 inch output 3" portable meter
c) $250 for 1 day flatbed truck rental from Hertz
d) $500 for 1 brand new 1,000 gallon water tank from Tractor Supply Company (or equivalent)
e) $100 sales tax on the new water tank & other incidentals

Any other helpful suggestions for me to provide to the neighbors for trucking
in potable water during the drought?

Check this out from Australia,too late for this year,but get ready for
next year.
http://stratco.com.au/products/rainw...qua_barrel.asp