The stockpiling is discreet, but it's happening. A few cases here ... a few gallons there.

Despite assurances from government officials that it's not necessary, some worried metro Atlantans are setting aside stashes of drinking water. Just in case.

Alison Church/Special (ENLARGE)

Fontis Water of Marietta route driver Brad Carroll delivers to an Atlanta home. Water distributors are discouraging their customers from hoarding water.

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Ask them why, and they'll mention things like "rationing" and "discolored water." Like other stockpilers, Ricky Town says he's not panicked, just pragmatic.

Town and his wife have three young children. Every time the couple stops at a local supermarket, or food warehouse, they pick up a few cases of water in the sports-bottle size. Town notices others doing the same.

So far, he has six cases in his Lithonia garage.

"We're not going crazy," he said. "But like you would grab some toilet paper ... grab some water."

It's not hard to find bottled water on supermarket shelves in metro Atlanta, but many stores this week had visible gaps in the spaces reserved for the largest containers of drinking water.

Several bottled water companies that deliver to homes in metro Atlanta say they've had inquiries from new customers, and others who want to build a reserve.

How do they know the customers are stockpiling?

Easy, says Jamie Carroll, owner of Fontis Water in Marietta. New customers typically start with four bottles, each containing five gallons. After he's explained the setup, he said, "they're like, okay, well, can I have 16?"

Carroll, who's worked in the water business for years, said the buildup reminds him of what happened leading up to Y2K, only not as bad.

Fontis delivered 12 five-gallon jugs to customer Michael Massicott last week. Within days, Massicott called to order 20 more.

The Sandy Springs homeowner is aiming for 200 gallons in the basement. He knows what it's like to go without drinking water. When Hurricane Opal ripped through Atlanta in October 1995, Massicott and his wife had an infant — and no running water for four days.

"That's part of what made me think, we don't want to go there again," Massicott said.

The family now includes two children and an elderly grandparent.

"At first I thought, maybe this is kind of silly," he said. "I had some self-doubt in the beginning. But it wasn't enough to outweigh the need to feel prepared. Plus, we'll use it anyway."

Bill Schilling, president of Culligan Water Co. of Atlanta, said his company has had a few phone calls asking for big orders. But he actively dissuades people from stocking up, even his neighbors, who know what he does for a living.

Like Fontis, the water supply for Culligan comes from a spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The source is secure. There's no reason for customers to order more water, he said.

"We're discouraging anybody from loading up on water. If they're customers, and they insist, we'll sell them a six-month supply."

Schilling received a call recently from a woman who wanted 1,500 gallons to store. He refused. Culligan Water estimates the average household uses 75 to 100 gallons of water a day, but that includes washing and cooking purposes.

In cases of emergency, federal planners suggest people set aside at least a gallon for each person and pet in the family, per day, and to store at least three days' worth.

"There is certainly some panic out there," Schilling said. "I don't think it's widespread. The phone's not ringing off the hook, I'll tell you that."

Town started discreetly stockpiling after hearing government officials talk about the possibility of discolored water. He has no interest in that. He figures he can amass enough drinking water to get them through an emergency, buying him enough time to drive outside North Georgia to get more.

"I have small children. I'm going to make sure they have drinking water, and we don't have to pay $20 to pay for a case of drinking water."

Elizabeth Reardon of Roswell started buying extra water about two weeks ago. She and her fiancé figure it's better to be safe than thirsty. So far, she's purchased seven cases of small sports bottles. She plans to buy four more this weekend.

"You just don't know," she said. "What's the worst that can happen? You don't have to buy water for a year."