It happens, a lot; I can drive three miles from where I fix lawnmowers all summer and point out three stations that have sold gas containing water to over a dozen of my customers in the past five years.
They have all been cautioned to stay away from these guys.
The devices intended to isolate and minimize this problem require periodic maintenance and some places just don’t do it.
I used to own a gas station, one night our lot flooded over and we pumped over one thousand gallons the next day with contaminants and didn’t know it until the people came back with big problems.
I was also in charge of all the fuel and oil purchases for a V.A. hospital to power their equipment including power generators and I had my crew stick and water-test each tank every test run.
We routinely pumped out up to three inches of condensed water twice a year from our 18,000 gallon fiberglas new double walled tanks.
Never buy while or directly after the tanker is dropping fuel, period.
The state inspector here comes once each year or as soon as can be scheduled the following year and he always checks for water on the bottom of the tanks or in the delivery.
I keep a tube of water-finder paste in the garage all the time.
>>I keep a tube of water-finder paste in the garage all the time.<<
Isthat something that one can use to test gasoline? Is it something a normal person can buy.