Colorado Loosen's Ban on Collecting Rainwater

I was surfing a local news to find something to write about here and came across this: http://cbs4denver.com/local/rain.water.collecting.2.971880.html

Basically, "A state senator recently found that out when he tried to conserve rainwater for his flower garden." So... now there's work going on to change the law. This Senator got into trouble for trying collect water in a rainbarrel for his garden, and that prompted an investigation into this 19th century law that says rain must go unimpeded to rivers and streams.

I blogged about this a while back. Us "homesteaders" and survival-type people have been concerned about this for years. But did anyone hear us? Did our complaints and requests for the law to be reviewed get heard? Nope. But if a SENATOR tries it, NOW the government reviews it.

This is what's happening:

"The bill that has passed says residents can now collect it with certain restrictions. "You can capture enough rain or snow to be able to put in a garden, to be able to irrigate up to an acre of land, to be able to possibly put out a small fire," Looper said. Residents still can't harvest rain without a permit from the state engineer's office, and the permits are targeted for those who live in rural areas, not people living the suburbs."

So basically even if I apply for a permit to collect the rain and snow-runoff for my house here in the suburbs, I'll be denied because I'm not in a rural area and because I'm hooked up to a water system. And if I live out in the boonies and apply and receive that permit, that means I'll be in yet another system, giving up even more information and more privacy ... for WATER?!?!

And the fact that permits are actually required to do what we should be able to do naturally... boy my buns are burning. I am t-i-c-k-e-d off!

Studies show that 97% of rainwater evaporates before it gets to streams, etc. So basically, the Colorado government wants to control something that's free and could help the environment.

Alright. Look at it this way: If we collect the rain water and use it on our gardens, then we won't need to use the water in the reservoir. Right? Good green thinking.

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