Water, Water, Everywhere...But Not a Drop to Drink or Flush!

Growing up in a "well" to do, suburban neighborhood, I've never really understood the idea of the City turning on and off your water supply...and exactly what that means for a household.
I guess I'm in for a crash course tomorrow. 

We recently moved to the City . 

While I'm fully aware that our rental property has "city water and sewer"...the details were a bit vague for me. I went to City Hall and filled out the application to have the water/sewer bill put in my name (and to avoid it being turned off)...and I paid the $100 deposit. I returned home to greet a Water District employee "checking" my meter. He was very pleasant and assured me that we were all set. Excellent. Check that off my enormous list of things to take care of with the move.
Except, one thing.
Around 7:00pm, I happened to check the front door to make sure it was locked for the night and noticed a putrid green slip of paper hanging inconspicuously on the outside door knob. After a quick inspection, I realized that despite my timely (and rather expensive) errand earlier today, I would still be without water tomorrow. Thanks to the road construction that has been tormenting us since the move, we will not have any water between the hours of 7am-7pm tomorrow. 

The realization that I won't have access to water for a 12 hour period is really kind of scary. What am I going to do?

I've filled empty water bottles, jugs, ice cube trays, and any other water carrying container I can find. I'm thinking about filling the tub too! How am I going to keep 4 kids and 6 pets hydrated all day in the middle of August with the humidity off the charts?
And, here's a biggie...what about the toilet? No flushing for 12 hours? I can tell you right now, that's not going to fly in this house.

Lamenting about my waterless 12 hours has me thinking about how others, less fortunate than me, face having no drinkable quality water every day. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), "Every year there are 2 million diarrhoeal deaths related to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene- the vast majority among children under 5. More than one billion people lack access to an improved water source." How can that be in the year 2012?

I have the luxury of running to the store and buying a case of Poland Spring, Dasani, Aquafina, or choose from a dozen others...My family and I don't have to suffer the dire effects of unclean water every single day. Regardless, I now have a reinforced sense of water conservation. Water is a precious commodity that I forget to appreciate. I take it for granted washing laundry, dishes, the car, or watering the garden and spraying the kids with the hose. 
When we get water back, we'll have some new water usage guidelines to follow at our house.