Seven days with no water — then Carlisle's taps came back, carried by neighbors and a dozen trucks of bottled water

Carlisle, Iowa — a town of about 4,000 — lost its running water on September 30, when a series of water main breaks drained the whole system. For seven days there were no showers, no flushing toilets, no laundry; schools closed and the town went without drinkable tap water. But the town carried itself: roughly a dozen tractor-trailers of bottled water, donated by companies like Hy-Vee, Casey's, and Fareway, rolled in for anyone who needed them; a local market set up showers; a neighboring wellness campus opened its doors; and residents hauled gallon jugs from pools of non-potable water for flushing. Crews worked day and night and found the real culprit — a hidden break in a 12-inch line — which the mayor called “very good news, because now we know exactly what we’re dealing with.” The do-not-use order was lifted at 5 a.m. Thursday, and water is flowing again while the system is flushed under a boil advisory.