Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Water is given all kinds of significance in godless. It is, of course, equated with life itself (1.55) and called "the source of all life" (4.1). Jason reminds Dan that the ancient Greeks considered water to be one of the four elements (5.22).
Religious Symbolism of Water
In Chapter 5, Jason, Shin, and Dan brainstorm a few sacraments. A sacrament is a sacred act or ceremony, something with really deep significance within the context of a religion. Not surprisingly, water figures strongly in the Chutengodian sacraments: catching a drop of Holy Water in the mouth, Sacred Washing of the Hands, the Flushing of the Toilet, and the Daily Immersion (5.42-45).
The CTG sacrament of immersion strongly parallels the Christian sacrament of baptism. Baptism is meant to be a public and external sign of an internal change, an indicator of internal faith. So it can be inferred that the Chutengodians' swim in the godhead (a.k.a. top of the water tower) kind of cements their inclusion in and their commitment to the faith. "It's baptism time!" (18.56) Henry shouts to Jason to entice him in for a swim in the water tank.
Atop the tower after their swim, Henry is "hopping up and down on his left foot, tugging at the loops on either side of his right boot," when his "heel comes down on a wet spot and his foot skids out from under him and he falls" (19.12, 14). Are we the only ones to find it ironic that it is the "lifeblood of the Ten-legged One" (8.39) that leads to the literal downfall of the least faithful of the Chutengodians?