One of the greatest steps forward that local communities have taken of late is the push to collect rainwater to offset your water use. It is often an easy way to help out the environment and, in the long run, simply save water. There don’t really seem to be any catches to it either. Rain falls from the sky, hits your roof and runs in to your drums or barrels or tanks.
If only it were that simple.
Notch up another one for the members of the Idiots Anonymous who have apparently been camping out in Bellingham, Washington. Apparently, rainwater doesn’t actually belong to individuals, but to the state as a whole. Therefore, all the wonderful efforts of communities to collect water are actually illegal.
Not just frowned upon, or morally unethical, or shifty – all of which water collection is not – but actually illegal, so much so that in the future such legalities could be used in a court of law.
It comes down once again to the simple fact that humanity is doomed to an ever continuing cycle of idiot and misanthropic events and situations that will, eventually, simply wear down those of us with half a brain, and leave planet Earth populated by half-wits and mimes (often the same thing).
This information is coming to us from the Bellingham Herald, who recently ran a story entitled “Does saving rainwater violate state law?” by Jennifer Langston. “We’re not going to start issuing permits for a pickle barrel in the backyard. But what if it’s four pickle barrels or a system that has 20,000 gallons of storage?” said Brian Walsh, a manager in the Department of Ecology’s water resources program.
Mr. Walsh, manager of the Department of Ecology, who the hell cares if it’s 2 million! It is rainwater you simpleton. It is wet water, falling from the clouds in the sky, on to roof’s and paddocks which may very well be decked out with enough pickle barrels to quench the thirst of a small army, like Canada’s. But unless someone is filling their aforementioned barrel from a river or other form of wet estuary, what right minded individual is going to attempt to enforce this law?
According to Langston, Seattle has obtained a citywide water-right permit, which allows for rain to be collected from most rooftops in the city. The “most” there refers to the few neighborhoods, mostly areas north of 85th street that see their stormwater empty into creeks and streams and lakes.
Just how is this stormwater making its way from Joe Bloggs’ roof and backyard out in to the streets and gutters so that it can then run into whatever lake lies at the end of it. How much rain is already soaked up by the grass that covers many a backyard? Is that grass acting illegally hogging all that water for itself?
If this law is not soon revoked, then my faith in humanity will once again drop another few notches down. And while Washington state lawmakers may not be out to please Joshua S. Hill of Melbourne, Australia, one can at least hope that they are going to try and use at least a modicum of common sense. It’d be a change, sure, but it’s a change for the better!
Update – thanks to cchiovitti who, in the comments below, alerted us to the fact that Eastern Colorado also has similar restrictions on who owns rainwater. Make sure to leave a comment if your state has decided to take a leave of absence from their senses as well.
credit: Pete Baugh at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
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Joshua S Hill
I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, a liberal left-winger, and believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I’m a 27-year-old author and writer from Melbourne, Australia. My first book is in the "looking for an agent" phase right now while I write my second. I also review fantasy books over at Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk). I love words with a passion, both creating them and reading them.
78 Responses to Who Does Rainwater Belong To?
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I live in Bellingham, Wa. Yes, the rainwater technically belongs to the city. The front drains on your home go to the sewer system, and the back drains go to the ecosystem. I live with a greenbelt behind me, and the wildlife requires the water from runoff to live. That water feeds ponds which bring wildlife to your area. As thinking economically, I agree with you when it’s surprising that the city could own the water that lands on it, but it’s not really about ownership. It’s more about the environment and the ecology of the area.
By the way, you’re totally wrong when it comes to rain barrels and Bellingham. The city even provides water barrels to the right places within.
http://www.cob.org/services/environment/water-quality/residential-stormwater-retrofit-program.aspx
Do some more research before you all slam my city
We’re very green here!
[...] Who Does Rainwater Belong To? – “One of the greatest steps forward that local communities have taken of late is the push to collect rainwater to offset your water use…” [...]
Where do I get my breathing license?
I live in Washington state, and haven’t heard of this down here in South Bend. Time to start writing letters to the Governor again, and the rest of the air heads collecting paychecks in Olympia.
Just goes to show us not all the idiots are in Washington, DC.
We just moved to Purcellville, VA and the town encourages us to use rain barrels! In our ‘welcome packet’ they even include a pamphlet on how to set up a rain barrel. I think that a city/state trying to claim rainwater is ridiculous. Cities should be encouraging rain water collection…after all it keeps you from drawing on their water source!
You cry about rain water but you let power plants use trillions of gallons of freshwater each day. As much as 70% of that freshwater is Evaporated. If you really cared about a water shortage I suggest you demand the power co. to Desalinate thier cooling water from the ocean and the left over desalinated water be added to our aquifer. I can live without power but nobody can live without water!
oh, and by the way, Leslie is totally right. If the state owns the water, they should pay for flooding damages and snow removal, as well as in-state water transportation through pipes and such.
I agree with David from New Mexico that farmers need rain water for their crops. However, it shouldn’t be illegal to collect water from your own storm drain that falls on your own roof. If it falls on your roof, it’s on your property and a few gallons from your roof won’t hurt the farmer’s crops. It won’t. If someone diverted water from flowing into a farmer’s land then sure it can be punishable by law.In some cases, though, actions that are considered “green” to protect the environment actually hurt the environment, this not being one of them. There’s no problem with drinking rain water off your roof. Seriously.
…why do people live in the desert? And then complain about the lack of water?
I liked the article. Sorry for my english if mistaken. I am thinking of moving out from big city like Athens – Greece and will stay with my b/f to an island. We were thinking of making some kind of ecological awakeness so i would like to know more about that law thing about water. If it comes from up above why should i go against the law if i collect it into a barrel or so?? Well, thank you for your time.
I would think that whoever is laying claim to rain water would therefore be responsible for damaged property due to rain or flooding. The state would also need to be responsible for snow removal of private properties. Ownership is not all about the positive. Ownership also comes with responsibility and I would hold the owners responsible.
Citizens of Colorado should asses all rain and water damage to their properties and turn them into the state of Colorado for repair and compensation.
Further, the state of Colorado should be held responsible for snow removal to all private properties where “their” precipitation has inconvenienced people. If a landowner is forced to remove snow from their private roads and sidewalks they should bill the state for their time and inconvenience.
So how, exactly, is calling Bellingham “idiots anonymous” not getting angry or trying to solve things? It is a state law, and our paper was smart enough to point it out. Don’t get me wrong, the paper is a one-sided, anti-progressive, anti-enviro rag, but at least we are thinking about this stuff in our town. Geez.
The article points it out: this is a state with a very wet side–where most of the population is–and a very dry side–where most of the agriculture is, and some contentious water use issues. Also developers are using our “exempt well” law mentioned by an earlier commenteer to build large suburban sprawl where it doesn’t belong. A statewide law will never be perfect for all communities. Instead of striing such laws, they need to be refined.
And you need to be nice, too.
@CorruptSoul – I did not write the article, just stating the facts as they stand here in town. Getting angry doesn’t solve much of anything.
And thank you Zachary, for being rational and explaining why some of these laws exist. It is awfully “American” of some to instantly think of ways to sue others for something that has been going on for hundreds of years to protect our food and livestock.
As for the guy that mentioned the NM “law”, that is in fact not a law, just a recommendation. Local laws supercede the recommendations in places like where I live. I don’t necessarily agree with the laws, but I do understand why they are in place. Believe me, I want to collect my rainwater at my house, but I cannot – I would have to move outside of town limits. I guess I would rather have food more than I would rainwater, though.
I have a vacation home on the island of Ischia in Italy. Ischia has no water table or streams or well digging possibility. It’s a volcanic island and we only have thermal salt water.
For hundreds of years the roof tops of Ischia homes have been built as small 1 meter deep pools with white washed interior sides. They are cleaned every year. Pipes run from the roof top to reservoirs under each home. The reservoir under my villa is the size of 2 Olympic swimming pools. We collect the rain water. If you build a bigger roof collector or a bigger reservoir you have more water than your neighbor but that would only be done if you needed more water to grow crops. Not because you are hoarding from the skies.
Eels are kept in the reservoirs to keep the water clean and are also eaten at Christmas time as a delicacy (and to keep the eel population manageable).
Italians have been “GREEN” for thousands of years before the USA ‘invented’ the notion and we probably never even knew it! Gee – what idiots.
With ownership comes responsibility. Their rainwater has gotten into my basement again, and they will have to come clean it up and repair the damages!
I for one am glad that the owner has stepped forward to take responsibility for the wanton destruction caused by their property! They must be held accountable.
I will therefore when the next dumping occurs that is suceeded in ruining crops, grass, trees, flooding etc be sueing the state for excessive rainfall. See how fast the law gets removed if faced with legal action for the damage of rainfall. Sure they want everyone to go green, but don’t dare try. How dare you live off the grid, not pay for your water, use natural resources that are replenishing.
It’s hard to imagine that this would be illegal. The idea of water not being a human right but rather a commodity is happening all over the world.
Blue Planet Run Foundation supports water projects, like rain harvesting systems. If you’d like to support this effort, check us out!
This is completely moronic. The globalist system is again pushing to control more of our natural resources, which should belong to local, organic communities, not wealthy oligarchs in Brussel.
SWEET! I am filling a lawsuit against the government for the water damage to my house that has been caused by the government water sprinkling from the sky onto my house through my leaky roof onto the walls. I can finnaly afford to repair my shack, and so can you!!!
I’m curious what suggestions people have for alternatives to issuing enforceable water rights. If you build a dam on your property and use the water for your own purposes, the farmer or city downstream that depends on that water is left high & dry so to speak. How American of us to jump to figuring out in which situations we should be able to sue someone b/c some gov’t policy has wronged us. But we digress. The issue of small scale, domestic rainwater collection systems is no issue at all – while we do not yet compensate homeowners for these improvements, rainwater collection w/out a water right is perfectly legal (as long as it falls below a daily volume limit – in Oregon = 15,000 gallons/day).
I would demand the state prevent their water from hitting my privately owned roof.
This is the situation in the UK too. Every drop of rain belongs to the river authority. That is until it floods when miraculously it ceases to be their responsibility
So let me get this straight. We don’t own the water falling onto our property. Therefore, when said water floods basements and cellars, can we sue the OWNERS of the water for damage? Sure, we can…
This is ridiculous, here in Australia the government actually encourages us to put in water tanks and some local councils give rebates to home owners who install tanks.New Homes in New South Wales are actually required to have them and planning approval is not granted without one!
The law is similar in Australia. Basically, as soon as the rain hits the ground, it is deemed to belong to “the crown”, which in practice means that the government of the day can make decisions about the way to use that water so it provides the most benefits to the community as a whole. In Australia, this is done through a system of licenses that are quite complex, but at their core, define who gets first go at any water that is available, and what your share might be. Here, and I suspect there, the volumes consumed by people domestically are wildly smaller then the volumes used by agriculture, and can readily be shown to have a much higher value, so there is little or no interest in making householders pay a fee for the right to capture and store rainfall for purposes like drinking, washing, watering the lawn and so on.
These sorts of rules are more targeted at stopping farmers higher up in catchments building large on farm dams to capture any run off on their properties, which they can then use to grown some kind of irrigated crop (and make more money). This sounds great, except that the water they captured usually is effectively being taken from an irrigator downstream who has been issued with a water share, or more commonly, taken from some water sensitive piece of the environment.
LBS said on July 23rd, 2008 at 6:26 pm
There’s an old saying in the West:
Whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s for fightin’ over!
—-That’s the crux of it. Water has been big business here for a very long time. I’m not sure if “ownership” of water rights is prevalent in other areas or not, but definately a biggie here (Colorado). I do not “own” any of the water or minerals under my property – those rights were sold off ages ago. Most of the mineral rights in my area are owned by the railroads. If I dig a hole out back and find a T-Rex, that’s not mine either. That would fall under the mineral rights. Furthermore, mineral rights include natural gas and yes, the gas company can come out to my property at any time and dig for oil if they decide to. And there’s not a thing I can do about it.
Sorry to vent, but such is life here. Our best solution to the “no rain barrel” thing is greywater, because once I’ve used it, I technically do “own” that.
Joe – I assume you’re referring to the author… let’s play nice; not everyone is as learned as you.
You are an idiot. Do a little more research in basic Earth science if you really don’t understand the reason for this.