Rain Barrels Illegal?

I was recently asked by a reader if collection of rainwater was against the law in certain areas. I was shocked to find out that it actually is unlawful to collect rainwater in a couple of states. Utah, Colorado, and Washington all have laws in place prohibiting the collection of rainwater according to NaturalNews.com http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html.

This is just ridiculous to me. Our planet is in need of people willing to do more to protect the natural resources that are left and being over consumed. I can not believe that the government would ban people from collecting the rainwater that falls onto their houses. Do government officials really think this is a bad thing?

It has to be about the money. What other explanation can there be for these preposterous laws? The people that care enough about the planet to try and conserve water and their carbon footprint on this planet are costing the government money. They use less water from the treatment plant, therefore the city or county operating the plant makes a little less money. This is a perfect example of why our planet is in such a predicament with natural resources.

I believe in water conservation and think it should be a responsibility of all citizens, not a right or a privilege. I can not think of one good reason that collecting rain water should be banned. According to the same article stated above from NaturalNews.com, the local governments have been working to change the laws to fit today's needs. Many are letting small scale collection units be setup like one at a person's home. Large scale projects, however, are still prohibited.

There is a news story that can be found here on YouTube.com regarding a setup that sparked the attention to the legality of rainwater collection. This guy just wanted to save water by using rainwater to wash cars. What is wrong with that? It's good they worked with the guy on it afterward, but I think it is wrong that he has to buy water rights for the rain falling on his building. He paid for the building and the property it is on which is rights enough by my standards.

Thank God it is not illegal in my state. You can check you area here: http://www.harvesth2o.com/statues_regulations.shtml. Some states have no regulations, some just limit the amount to a few thousand gallons, and other actuall offer incentives to collect rainwater. Incentives are a great way to get people wanting to conserve water. All states should be offering incentives or at least letting people conserve if they want to. I only intend to increase my capacities and urge you to do the same, laws depending I guess.

Remember, Mother Earth smiles when you garden!