It is burnt to ashes, together with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool, then mixed with water. It's sprinkled upon those ritually unclean, due to contact with a corpse, on the 3rd and 7th days, to purify them. Yet those who prepared it are rendered ritually impure. So the red cow's red blood is sprinkled 7 times toward the Temple. Thus man escapes and transcends time and death.
Ritual impurity is, to varying degrees, contagious.
There was no water and the Jews panicked. He struck the rock twice with his staff- water came forth abundantly. Commentators differ as to the exact sin of Moshe and Aharon. Perhaps they were just burned out, ready for retirement. Moshe pleaded with the King of Edom to pass thru his land, but was refused and threatened.