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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states as Big Government claims ownership over our water (NaturalNews) 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,..(article continues here http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html
Poster Comment: This is a most excellent article.
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#8. To: Artisan (#0)
Diverting water from river to river (the 19th century laws) is not the same as collecting it in a rain barrel. Frankly, they don't own the rain, and they can't own the rain. If they think they do, they can kiss my puckered white tukus. There's a big push on now in Ohio to *encourage* rain collection. Out west I understand that the situation is different and much more...diabolical.
Diabolical, indeed. In one CA county ( I forget which one it is ....maybe farmfriend knows) I heard that property owners cannot get permits from the local gubment water district agency( that is allied with the local for-profit water company) to drill wells to supplement their water use needs. I guess if you have your own well water source, then you're not paying exorbitant amounts of $ to the local for-profit water company, and we can't let that happen can we?
Amazing stuff. The property rights model out west is utterly alien to the mid-west property rights model, by and large. Y'all have "water rights" and "mineral rights" and all sorts of other subdividing rubbish that essentially strips you of power over your own land. Out here, you own the rocks under your home and the water off your roof by default, period. It's the one thing that concerns me whenever I consider moving to Wyoming. Just not certain if they follow that fragmented model or not. If some smarmy smug bureaucrat stomped around my property looking for ways to sue me for using water that collected in a bucket on my back porch, I'd be sorely tempted to dispatch him with all due prejudice to the great office space in hell.
If Wyoming doesn't now, it may be forced to do so in the near future. I thought I read recently that TheAffirmativeActionEmporer and his foot soldiers were trying to pass legislation to have Fed Gov't be assigned ownership of all water in the USA ( surface, under ground, salt, fresh, rain/snow... whatever). If this happens, policies any state had before would be rendered moot. Anyone else hear about this pending water legislation?
Anyone else hear about this pending water legislation? I'd like to know about that, if its true. The hubris in claiming ultimate ownership of the rain, snow and weather is breathtaking. Another set of "laws" I shall feel compelled to disobey, and disobey loudly, should this ever come to pass.
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