Its messed up but not at all surprising. The West End past Sommerset Lane still does not have any type of running water service. Trucks are promised and don't come....its maddening for my friends and neighbors and the "proposed solutions" in the Observer article...no one is holding their breath, lets put it that way.
The "mayor" owns a water trucking business. In January when a friend of mine (a resident and property owner) went to discuss this with him he was fairly uninterested.
As far as potability - none of the trucked water - stolen or legit - is potable. We would put a capful of bleach into it, let it clear and then boil and filter what we planned on using to brush our teeth and cook with. The last weeks of our stay we drank bottled water for the most part.