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How does one create a mikvah in a desert? (IOW, it never rains or snow here).

This is not quite theoretical - IIUC, it is a real problem in, say, some parts of Egypt.

PS. The source of drinking water can be a long aqueduct or a deep well...

sds
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Ohr.edu says that in an area where there is no rain, snow can be trucked in.

Putting snow in a mikveh and letting it melt is in fact one of the methods sometimes used to fill a mikveh. I hear that during dry spells in Arizona they sometimes truck in snow from the Sierra Mountains to fill mikvehs.

See also Chevel Nachloso 6:25

Gershon Gold
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    Thanks! Would a slab of ice do? Does snow have to be natural? – sds Jun 07 '17 at 22:17
  • @sds http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/119907/msh210 – msh210 Jun 07 '17 at 22:35
  • Ah, so we can just freeze the tap water and place it into the mikvah to melt. Thanks! – sds Jun 07 '17 at 22:41
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    a natural underground or mountain stream /spring would work. But the ice story is way cooler :) – David Kenner Jun 08 '17 at 00:02
  • Would this be kosher for a women's mikvah? That's really interesting. – ezra Jun 08 '17 at 01:20
  • @sds tap water would be "she'uvim" already, invalidating it for a mikva, so that wouldn't work. However, taking ice blocks from a frozen river or the like would be a good idea – Mennyg Jun 08 '17 at 06:50
  • @ezra Why would any mikveh differ from another in what allows it to be metaher? If it's kosher, it's kosher. – DonielF Jun 13 '17 at 22:18
  • @DonielF - Since men do not have to dip in by halacha, even a swimming pool is kosher for a men's mikvah. But since women are required to dip in by halacha, the are naturally many more halachos for them. – ezra Jun 14 '17 at 03:12
  • @ezra The article discussed Keilim. The passuk explicitly compares a mikveh for Keilim to a mikveh for a woman (see AZ 75b). – DonielF Jun 14 '17 at 03:47
  • Good reference on the topic here page 40 – mbloch Jun 03 '20 at 05:20