First, I will admit I didn't read all 7 pages of comments.
But, the whole 'realism' thing is thrown on so many fronts, I don't think it is that strange that they did away with the containers. Like, my guy can run around with 17 tons of concrete in his backpack...
Yes, I do see the OPs point, where did it go?? But, I think some of these stretches are here for the sake of gameplay overall. Like, now we don't need to haul around empty cans, jars, etc... we can just think of it as a one time use item. You get the water, you use it and it is freed from your inventory. Make more room for concrete anyways 😁