Collecting rain water at home

[hlthe2b]

3. as unfathomable as it may seem, it most certainly IS ILLEGAL in some areas..

We are working hard to change that in Colorado, but if you live out West, you would likely know that interstate water compacts define every damned drop of water in the region.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27723629/rooftop-rainwater-collection-bill-easily-clears-colorado-committee

A bill that would allow residential rainwater collection sailed through a committee hearing Monday, making headway in Colorado's decades-old water rights battle.

House Bill 1259 passed the Agriculture, Livestock & Natural Resources Committee 8-5 and now advances to the full House.

"We're simply wanting to allow people to collect the rain that falls off of their rooftops ... to put back into the earth," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo.

The proposal would limit total barrel size to 100 gallons per residence. Proponents say that the average homeowner could collect about 600 gallons of water annually to water their lawns or gardens. --snip--

Colorado's water rights system — known as "first in time, first in right" — emerged during the mining booms of the 19th century. Using that rhetoric, people argue that collecting rainwater prevents it from reaching rivers, violating the rights of downstream users.

"It's a violation of the doctrine of prior appropriations," said Pat Ratliff of the South Metro Water Authority. "It's not their water (to use). It's a return flow that somebody downstream has a senior right to."