Suze, the west end water thing has been going on since Christmas. When I got back from Portland we were having problems and the last good shower I had was on New Years Eve. After that it was tanks, trucks and pool water with the very occassional drip from the pipe when they fixed some huge leaks and attempted to "charge" the system up the west end once or twice.
Since I've left things have only gotten worse. I believe there's been no water in the pipe south of Sommerset since February. The NWC says they will send trucks out every other day but that doesn't always happen. When I was there they sent ONE truck but it wouldn't come into the yard - you had to meet it on the road with as many containers as you can muster (we made that 30 gallon container last the rest of the time we were there).
We understood from jump that the water in those trucks are not potable and need to be treated (it actually says so on the side of the truck). So, a capful of bleach, leave be for 30 minutes, boil, filter - and then I'd feel comfortable brushing my teeth with it but not drinking it straight up. We did cook with it and make coffee with it (heating/boiling again).
The situation is dire and there are no short term solutions on the horizon. Lots of "plans" that is going to take lots of money....basically the infrastructure is shot due to overdevelopment and neglect (Green River)as is the water source (Logwood). AND...they've just finished and are about to house residents in that Phase 1 of the "Little Bay Country Club" (little houses made of ticky-tacky) which will mean more usage on an already broken system.
Traffic lights are great, as are sidewalks and medians. But water is the staff of life.