Can we get back to sewage and sludge . From how deep does your city pumps the city water both of you ?
We get most of our water from the Colorado River and a desalination plant. We also use a lot of recycled water from sewage for irrigation.
This used to work when dealing with natural waste products. But todays sludge is so full with antibacterial substances that instead of replenishing the soil, is in fact poisoning it. Artificial cleaning substances are not easily broken down by natural organisms. An experiement in Japan showed that natural harvesting by crop rotation and using rotation fallowing is financially just as efficient over the long run as continual depleting the soil. The wanton disregard of any knowledge of soil chemistry may well be responsible for our increasing incidence of new diseases.
Public water supplies are subject to filtration an regular inspections for harmful substances. I live in a small town which has a single community well. Every so often we get a notice of the results of tests by an EPA licensed inspector.
Even sharks (water dwellers) must keep moving to avoid drowning. OTOH, without intake of water humans would die within days. Only Tardigrades seem able to survive long durations of draught. They do in fact shrivel up but do not die. Add a little water and the Tardigrade swells back to its original size and goes merrily on its way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade and another interesting article on tardigrades (water-bears) http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/science/the-tardigrade-water-bear.html?_r=0_