Years ago, when working for an oil company, I learned that ALL underground tanks have water in them. Typically, it settles to the bottom, below the fuel pick-up inlet, and does not cause a problem. The station is supposed to dip for water frequently and if the amount is too great, they have to get it pumped out.
When a tanker dumps a load of fuel, the water at the bottom get churned up and it takes a while for it to settle back out of the fuel again. That is when you have the greatest chance of pumping water. Of course, if a tank has a leak, it can get more water and if the station is not checking, as they are supposed to, it could rise to the pump inlet line, get sucked up and pumped into your tank.
After you get your tank drained, refuel with an ethanol blend. It will bind with any remaining moisture, which should get trapped by your fuel filter. You may have to change the filter soon but that's better than having it happen when you are unprepared.
It rained heavy here Friday and there were a lot of streets, parking lots that flooded. They think an employee didnt secure the cap on the fill pipe and with it being underground a lot of water entered the tank.
I pulled in close to empty, bought about 19 gallons I think and when I left it ran about 1/4 mile and started cutting out and quickly died. Had it towed and the dealer called me Saturday and said my tank was full but only had a couple of gallons of gas, the rest was water.
Repair including the $200 tow and $50 for gas was $500 and the gas station is supposed to reimburse me for that tomorrow. Notified the state and the inspector told me there were between 10 and 15 complaints on that station for the day.
I'm going to put a bottle of Heet in it tomorrow but its running normal for now.
This story isn’t Jeep related but about 10 years ago I had a diesel Sprinter van that got a tank of water from a Gulf station in the Bronx. Had to be towed off the highway, messed up the injectors ( which required removing the head of the engine), fuel tank had to be dropped, fuel pump had to be changed and the cost of a rental van for 2 weeks . How much for this loveliness you ask?.........a whopping 6 grand!
Btw, I filed a complaint with the EPA or BBB I forgot which one. They opened a case and sent me a letter a few weeks later saying “they found no water” in the dudes tank so there went my lawsuit.