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troubled waters .....
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?)
- By John Richardson at 29 Jul 2010 - 11:42pm
- John Richardson's blog
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of water tanks...
Yes John,
Here in Sydney we had the same problem a few decades ago until it was pointed out that when it rained, 99 per cent of it ended up in the harbour.
Often, if it rains in Sydney, it does not rain in the catchment area. Sydney can be swimming in water but the dam level stays low. When the level fell below 35 percent or so, they had no choice — costwise and engineering wise — but to build a desalination plant and impose strict restrictions on the use of water...
Rain in Sydney is erratic. Usually winter is dry and sunny, while coolish. This winter, I believe though, has been one of the wettest ever and, despite "freezing" temperatures, would have been one of the warmest on average. The humidity removes the insulating property of the air. In one of my comments I conducted an experiment with a hot dish and a wet towel. The same applies with a freezing dish and a wet towel. Humidity changes the way the "air" is going to insulate from heat or cold.
Eventually the New South Wales State government decided to encourage people to store water. We can get subsidies from the government to install water tanks for all usage: flush toilets, water gardens or even drink if clean or filtered. Recycling of grey water has also been encouraged. As mentioned in an earlier post, one of the major problem was mosquitoes. This is why the tanks have to be fitted at the intake, the overflow and the outflow with sturdy non-rusting mosquito mesh. Easy: the tank manufacturers have to provide those. And if one has a garden, pot plants and compost heap, one soon realises that mozzies will breed anywhere barely damp... Frogs do too sometimes.
We should all be allowed to collect a certain amount of rain.
But, the way some of the cotton farmers were doing it, in south Queensland, was outrageous — basically not allowing the rivers to naturally flow south, for another 3,000 kilometres. On the other side of the border, crops and fields were in severe drought with not a drop of irrigation possible since most had been swallowed by the "marroons" (Queenslanders).
Federal Government subsidies apply now on solar hot water system and photovoltaic cells back to the grid.
One of the major problems with these is the change of culture and also the modification to the heritage look in some areas. Installations are not heritage friendly. Most of inner Sydney Suburbs have a heritage value that many tourists do not see because it's not part of the tours. Most of these suburbs were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, giving this city a unique diverse character. A character that, of course, developers are trying to kill off., but this is another story. Note the intrusive signage is an old tradition in Sydney too...
Water tanks are less obtrusive visually than, say, a necessary scaffold designed to support a solar heating system on top of a "complex" federation slate roof. I have been working hard on the way to hide these when I install them in the near future.
In Sydney I have nearly 8,000 litres of rainwater tanks, I am planning for another 4,000 litres...
May you have plenty of water to grow your own. G