Why is collecting rainwater illegal in some states?
When people think "collecting rainwater," they think about this:and think, "why would that be illegal?"But that's not the problem.The problem is when people build reservoirs over hundreds of acres of private property to "collect rainwater," they actually disrupt the behavior of water ecosystems. This is why water law and water rights management gets very complex.For example, here is an example of "rainwater collection" on private property that was deemed "illegal." Man jailed for 30 days after building THREE reservoirs on his own land with enough water to fill 20 Olympic-sized pools With a series of dams and ponds, this landowner amassed 13 million gallons of water that would have otherwise flowed to the watershed.Most places have an exemption for modest amounts of collection for personal use, but the question becomes "where do you draw the line?" Colorado currently (2016) has zero tolerance for any rainwater collection (It is actually illegal in Colorado to collect the rain that falls on your home) and thanks to recalcitrant legislators has been unable to change this state of affairs (Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg: No rain barrels for you).You can read more at Rain, Rain, Stowaway.