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. 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.
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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
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.
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.
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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.
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 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.
@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.
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.
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.
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.
…why do people live in the desert? And then complain about the lack of water?