Public water around here comes from ground water, not lakes. Anyone who would drink water out of the nearest river has a death wish.

Well water pumped by the municipal authority for public consumption is paid for in the water rates, levied by the local government, which is also responsible for regulation in times of drought.

People who have their own wells do have to pay licensing fees, and also have to compete with the superior pumping ability and water storage (and water pressure) equipment that the local governments command on behalf of the citizens of the townships, boroughs, villages and cities of the commonwealth. Unless private well-owners are somehow "upstream" of the major local acquifer tappers, their wells go dry first, and then they have to pay for the water tax of the bottled water people as well as sales tax on a per bottle basis.

Private wells only really pay if you're in the agriculture business.

Regards--
Mary Anne