Shore Water vs Watermakers

[drew.ward]

I have a question for you guys...

A lot of places that I plan to live/cruise do not have potable drinking water. My main locale is going to be Mexico and although you can wash dishes and such with the water there, you can't drink it, cook with it, or brush your teeth with it.

I'm planning on a larger boat with lots of water capacity (charter business). If this were the US the logical choice would be to hook up the water hose and fill all the tanks on shore with nice cheap water. But as this will be Mexico (and various other places) that water has limited uses.

So, I'm curious as to whether those of you who do travel outside of EPA land actually use shore water from the marina or rely solely on your water maker.

Once you get up to larger water makers I am assuming the cost gets considerably more. Of course to use shore water for everything I would need to buy some sort of filtration / treatment system to cure it of any problems before use -- also expensive.

So in a situation like this, what would be the best route:

1. A water maker and single storage tank capable of handling all my needs.

2. A filtering system that could accept shore water, treat it inline and store it in a tank which could be augmented by a smaller watermaker.

3. Having two systems, one smaller one with a watermaker and holding tank that is only for drinking / cooking water. And a separate system that uses shore water to handle heads, showers, hand washing, and boat cleaning.

I'm thinking the 3rd choice might be the cheapest and best longterm because I really will only need potable water in the kitchen and this would limit plumbing.

This problem with shore water quality (aside from healthwise) to me is also relative to other places. For instance here in Europe water quality is total crap. It's safe to drink, but has so much calcium and other minerals in it that using it on a boat regularly would mean replacing all your fittings and piping every year or two. That sounds extreme, but if anyone's ever lived here they know a coffee maker or electric kettle has a lifespan of about a year max due to corrosion and buildup.