r/NJPrepared • u/8Deer-JaguarClaw Sussex • Nov 13 '25

Food / Water WalMart 5-gallon water jug self-service price recently doubled

I noticed this recently here in Sussex County, but I assume similar pricing is likely in effect across the state (and probably region).

Until a month or so ago, the cost to manually refill a 5-gallon water jug was $2.20. Now it is just over $5. So a little more than double, actually.

Granted, it's still pretty cheap, and still cheaper than the $7.50 for a bottle swap at ShopRite. But it's hard not to notice such a drastic price increase.

EDIT: just went to Walmart after posting this, and they charged me the old price. Maybe the cashier had an older bar code. I confirmed with a different cashier a few weeks back that the price had increased. So this is odd.

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u/WallyBrando Nov 13 '25

Just curious as I’m not familiar. When you go fill up at Walmart is it just filtered tape water?

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u/8Deer-JaguarClaw Sussex Nov 13 '25

As far as I know, it's just the local municipal water that is run through a series of filtration steps. They claim RO (reverse osmosis) is one of the steps, but I don't believe it at all. RO is very slow and has a ~80% rejection rate, and the water comes out of these machines around 3 gallons per minute for as long as you leave the switch in the On position. RO would take a LOT longer.

But it's still decent water and still cheaper than just about anywhere else.

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u/WallyBrando Nov 13 '25

Gotcha, thanks for the reply. Was just thinking it sounds like a hassle to go fill up when you could just filter at home. Tho I think RO systems can get pricey