Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states

[mark handler]

Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states

July 27 2010

Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I'm about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.

Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states

Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I'm about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.

As bizarre as it sounds, laws restricting property owners from "diverting" water that falls on their own homes and land have been on the books for quite some time in many Western states. Only recently, as droughts and renewed interest in water conservation methods have become more common, have individuals and business owners started butting heads with law enforcement over the practice of collecting rainwater for personal use.

Check out this YouTube video of a news report out of Salt Lake City, Utah, about the issue. It's illegal in Utah to divert rainwater without a valid water right, and Mark Miller of Mark Miller Toyota, found this out the hard way. After constructing a large rainwater collection system at his new dealership to use for washing new cars, Miller found out that the project was actually an "unlawful diversion of rainwater." Even though it makes logical conservation sense to collect rainwater for this type of use since rain is scarce in Utah, it's still considered a violation of water rights which apparently belong exclusively to Utah's various government bodies.

"Utah's the second driest state in the nation. Our laws probably ought to catch up with that," explained Miller in response to the state's ridiculous rainwater collection ban.

Salt Lake City officials worked out a compromise with Miller and are now permitting him to use "their" rainwater, but the fact that individuals like Miller don't actually own the rainwater that falls on their property is a true indicator of what little freedom we actually have here in the U.S. (Access to the rainwater that falls on your own property seems to be a basic right, wouldn't you agree?)

Outlawing rainwater collection in other states

Utah isn't the only state with rainwater collection bans, either. Colorado and Washington also have rainwater collection restrictions that limit the free use of rainwater, but these restrictions vary among different areas of the states and legislators have passed some laws to help ease the restrictions.

In Colorado, two new laws were recently passed that exempt certain small-scale rainwater collection systems, like the kind people might install on their homes, from collection restrictions.

Prior to the passage of these laws, Douglas County, Colorado, conducted a study on how rainwater collection affects aquifer and groundwater supplies. The study revealed that letting people collect rainwater on their properties actually reduces demand from water facilities and improves conservation.

Personally, I don't think a study was even necessary to come to this obvious conclusion. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that using rainwater instead of tap water is a smart and useful way to conserve this valuable resource, especially in areas like the West where drought is a major concern.

Additionally, the study revealed that only about three percent of Douglas County's precipitation ended up in the streams and rivers that are supposedly being robbed from by rainwater collectors. The other 97 percent either evaporated or seeped into the ground to be used by plants.

This hints at why bureaucrats can't really use the argument that collecting rainwater prevents that water from getting to where it was intended to go. So little of it actually makes it to the final destination that virtually every household could collect many rain barrels worth of rainwater and it would have practically no effect on the amount that ends up in streams and rivers.

It's all about control, really

As long as people remain unaware and uninformed about important issues, the government will continue to chip away at the freedoms we enjoy. The only reason these water restrictions are finally starting to change for the better is because people started to notice and they worked to do something to reverse the law.

Even though these laws restricting water collection have been on the books for more than 100 years in some cases, they're slowly being reversed thanks to efforts by citizens who have decided that enough is enough.

Because if we can't even freely collect the rain that falls all around us, then what, exactly, can we freely do? The rainwater issue highlights a serious overall problem in America today: diminishing freedom and increased government control.

Today, we've basically been reprogrammed to think that we need permission from the government to exercise our inalienable rights, when in fact the government is supposed to derive its power from us. The American Republic was designed so that government would serve the People to protect and uphold freedom and liberty. But increasingly, our own government is restricting people from their rights to engage in commonsense, fundamental actions such as collecting rainwater or buying raw milk from the farmer next door.

Today, we are living under a government that has slowly siphoned off our freedoms, only to occasionally grant us back a few limited ones under the pretense that they're doing us a benevolent favor.

Fight back against enslavement

As long as people believe their rights stem from the government (and not the other way around), they will always be enslaved. And whatever rights and freedoms we think we still have will be quickly eroded by a system of bureaucratic power that seeks only to expand its control.

Because the same argument that's now being used to restrict rainwater collection could, of course, be used to declare that you have no right to the air you breathe, either. After all, governments could declare that air to be somebody else's air, and then they could charge you an "air tax" or an "air royalty" and demand you pay money for every breath that keeps you alive.

Think it couldn't happen? Just give it time. The government already claims it owns your land and house, effectively. If you really think you own your home, just stop paying property taxes and see how long you still "own" it. Your county or city will seize it and then sell it to pay off your "tax debt." That proves who really owns it in the first place... and it's not you!

How about the question of who owns your body? According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark office, U.S. corporations and universities already own 20% of your genetic code. Your own body, they claim, is partially the property of someone else.

So if they own your land, your water and your body, how long before they claim to own your air, your mind and even your soul?

Unless we stand up against this tyranny, it will creep upon us, day after day, until we find ourselves totally enslaved by a world of corporate-government collusion where everything of value is owned by powerful corporations -- all enforced at gunpoint by local law enforcement.

http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html

 

[fatboy]

It really is a sad state of affairs...........makes me want to go dig a cistern on my 80 acres and start collecting rainwater right now in protest..........and I don't even have a yard, nor garden.

sheesh..........

 

[Coug Dad]

That is not a new thing in Colorado. I remember water rights discussions back when I first moved there in 1979. The Denver Water Board controls much of the water and they have always been very aggressive protecting thier rainfall. I was not aware that other states are starting to look at it. Water rights are much like mineral rights. You may own the land, but you generally do not own the oil, gold, silver, or other mineral that might be located beneath your property.

 

[conarb]

Could the real reason be the reduction in revenue to the water district? I thought this letter to the editor in today's paper interesting.

In May of 2009 customers of City of Antioch Finance Department Utility Service received a mailed notice informing us of Drought Management Regulations, requiring residential customers to reduce their water usage by 15% of historical usage (excluding the previous year). The letter included a table of water usage goals, by month, for the year including May '09 thru April '10, along with the caveat that "customers who do not meet their established 15% reduction goal will be subject to an excess use charge applied to consumption in excess of their reduction goal." Heavy-handed stuff!

The July 2. 2010 edition of our esteemed Antioch News headlined "Antioch council approves hike in water, sewer rates" citing, among other excuses, foreclosures, "loss of revenue," requiring an "initial" 12% increase in water rates, followed by a 12% increase July, 2011, 8% in 2012 and 6% in 2013, for a total four year increase of more than 52%. Additionally there is the sewer rate which will increase by over 27% during the same period.

Could none of our City's managers see that if you mandated a 15% reduction in usage, there would be at least an equal reduction in revenue? Let us not forget in November!

Robin Dunlap

Antioch¹

And this:

Sure, it's been a scorching summer on the East Coast, but even in this heat some residents of Brockton, Massachusetts were dumbfounded to receive water bills as high as $100,000.²

¹ http://www.contracostatimes.com/letters/ci_15623979?nclick_check=1

² http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/07/28/100-000-water-bills-soak-residents-of-brockton-massachusetts/

 

[Uncle Bob]

This is just a drop in the bucket, ( pun intended)

Where I lived in Texas; the City added $2.50 per month to the water bill; for rain water runoff from every house lot. Even when it didn't rain that month.

We have grown too fat and lazy; and dependent on the very entities that oppress us; to rise up with any useful and significant force. We have been divided into opposing groups; in order to control our natural instinct to come together. Our history has been bastardized to the point that two or three of us can not agree on what it is.

Our schools are not places for our children to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic; and historic and scientific facts. They have been replaced with the humanistic idea that socialization is the primary goal of education.

The government has not been the servant of the people for some time now; it is the servant of our oppressors. And, yes, it is too late for us; it's just too damn late!

We are too weak to stand, declare, and act on the declaration that set our founders free;

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

It was a good run; but, it's over.

Get used to it,

Uncle Bob

 

[Uncle Bob]

As I stated in my previous post; " It's too late."

The EPA is now making it illegal to disturb the soil and produce dust; yes, I said "Dust"!

This is only the beginning;

http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=12899662

"EPA sets foundation for unprecedented dust regulation

Jul. 14, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the latest step in its review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the foundation for unprecedented regulation of dust. According to EPA's Second Draft Policy Assessment for Particulate Matter (PM), issued late last week, EPA may consider regulating coarse PM at levels as low as 65-85 µg/m3, twice as stringent as the current standard.

"It would be virtually impossible for many critical U.S. industries to comply with this standard, even with use of best-management practices to control dust," said Tamara Thies, NCBA chief environmental counsel. "All of us certainly want healthy air for our communities, but this is nothing more than the everyday dust kicked up by a car driving down a dirt road, and it has long been found to be of no health concern at ambient levels."

Because of the high dust levels found in arid climates, many critical western industries have a difficult time meeting the current standard of 150 µg/m3. In some of these areas, "no-till" days have already been proposed for agriculture, severely hindering farmers' ability to maintain productive operations.

"Farmers could be fined for everyday activities like driving a tractor down a dirt road or tilling a field," said Thies. "It would effectively bring economic growth and development to a halt in many areas of the country."

If EPA regulates dust at the level of 65-85 µg/m3, areas across the country would be classified as "nonattainment," forcing states to impose extreme dust-control requirements on businesses across the board.

"The current PM standard was set conservatively low based on historically flawed health studies," Thies continued. "EPA itself acknowledges the current standard was based on a desire to be cautious, and not on clear evidence that this very stringent level was necessary to protect against adverse public health effects. This is especially true for the type of rural dust predominantly found in agricultural and other resource-based operations."

The policy assessment is the latest step in EPA's ongoing review of the PM NAAQS, as required every five years under the Clean Air Act. The document will serve as the basis of EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee's (CASAC) consideration about whether to revise the current PM standard. CASAC is scheduled to discuss the document on July 26.

SOURCE: NCBA."

GREEN is the ultimate goal.

But, don't worry about food; by 2022 you'll be eating Soylent Green; and farms will be unnecessary; umm, umm, good.

Just keep your head in the sand until it's your turn.

Uncle Bob

 

[peach]

I grew up in a mining town; the mine owned the mineral and water rights and developed most of the town. They chose to dump all their tailings (including ore residue, mercury and cyanide) as well as all the town's sewage into the local creek.. because they could.. the EPA made them change that so the mine spent a bunch of money for retention and treatment facilities. It was nice to see the creek cleaned up.. kind of got used to the black water and smell, actually.

My point is: the water that falls on a property should belong to the property to reuse... and it is encouraged by all the green gurus to smartly reuse it for irrigation and reuse. The IRC even has an appendix now on how to do it.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Peach,

"My point is: the water that falls on a property should belong to the property to reuse... and it is encouraged by all the green gurus to smartly reuse it for irrigation and reuse."

That's a nice thought; but, the point here is that the Government has over ruled your right to use rain water that has fallen onto your property.

"The IRC even has an appendix now on how to do it. "

The IRC also states in "R102.2 The provisions of this code shall not be deemed to nulify any provisions of local, state, or federal law."

So, even if adopted; the appendix you are refering to is nulified by local, state, and federal laws; as shown in the examples posted.

Uncle Bob

 

[cda]

So in the states it is illegal , the ahj's that require a project to divert rain water to a holding pond is in violation?????

 

[packsaddle]

No, cda.

The government is always exempt from the laws it imposes on us peasants.

 

[conarb]

If the government owns the rainwater falling from the sky, it certainly owns the sunlight coming from the sky as well as the wind blowing over the property, so I guess it's time to ban solar panels and windmills, or at least charge them fees for their "free" electricity. I've heard talk of attaching carbon meters to fireplaces to tax people burning wood, they would also have transponders so the BAAQCD would be notified immediately if some scoflow burned on a no-burn day, that way they wouldn't have to wait for a neighbor to snitch on them, they've only got 7 cars patrolling the entire Bay Area looking for wood burners.

 

[FyrBldgGuy]

Lest you Jest...

The new Stored Energy Supply System consists of utility owned solar panels on residential homes. Large capacity battery systems are then installed in the garage or next to the house. The solar panels supply the batteries and the energy is used during peak hours. All connections are upstream of the meter, so the home owner does not get the advantage of the solar energy, except... Neighbor hoods are divided up into micro-grids. During an outage the micro-grids subdivide to minimize the size of the outage. This is all connected to the new smart meters and the smart grid.

This is no jest... it is already funded by the DOE. Check on federal projects to ***** jobs and decrease energy generated by oil.

 

[Uncle Bob]

While the EPA goes after water consumption in the home;

"EPA campain;

Consumers can start saving water today with three simple steps: check, twist and replace.

• Check toilets for silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank; if the color shows up in the bowl indicating a leak, fixing it may be as simple as replacing the toilet's flapper.
  
• Twist on a WaterSense labeled bathroom faucet aerator to use 30 percent less water without a noticeable difference in flow.
  
• Replace a showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model that uses less water and energy, but still has all the power of a water-hogging model.
  

http://forms.iapmo.org/newsletter/green/2010/08/EPA_WaterSense.asp

The Texas Water Resources Institute reports that 60 to 70 percent of our treated domestic water supply is used for watering lawns in summer.

page 6;

"Outdoor landscape irrigation accounts for as

much as 60 to 70 percent of a typical residential

customer’s water use in the summer, and is

​

responsible for peak summer demand."

http://twri.tamu.edu/reports/2002/tr200/tr200.pdf

Texas summers for watering lawns can go from February to November; and many of my neighbors kept their sprinkler systems on all year round; including the sprinkler heads that watered the adjacent roads instead of the grass.

While the EPA goes after water use in the homes (including poor folks that don't use that much water); we are pouring our treated water onto the ground; instead of using it in the home, which is what the treatment of water is suppose to be designed for; consumption of clean water in the home.

The goal of the EPA is more about restricting and controling people than it is about conserving clean (treated) water.

Make it illegal to water the grass; especially with sprinkler systems; and shazam, we'll have enough clean water for our homes.

Green; is a tool to control people; not save the planet.

Uncle Bob

 

[MarkRandall]

As far as state of Washington goes, the trend is removing restrictions, not adding them. The existing law is really old. The state has already publicly stated they look the other way on residential properties.

I had a lawyer friend talking to me about a year ago. He was all excited about the 50 gallon barrels he had purchased to collect his rain water. After he was done talking, I said: "You do know it's illegal to collect your rain water don't you?" The look on his face was priceless.

 

[fatboy]

Hey! I won half the mineral rights on my 80 acres, so I can collect half the rainwater, right?