Tiny Home Living: Is Collecting Rainwater Illegal In Some States?

Photo Credit: healthfreedoms.org

One would think that harvesting rainwater wouldn't be an illegal action. After all, it falls from the sky and it doesn't get used. It's a free for all. We should be using it!
Officials have a "very good" reason for banning rainwater use: "It belongs to someone else."
Officials believe that people steal rainwater from streams and rivers, and harvest it that way (for the most part, that is NOT TRUE).

Several western states (Colorado, Utah, Washington, Oregon, to name a few)  have outlawed harvesting rainwater as a water source. In fact, if you are caught harvesting rainwater, as one gentleman found out, you are fined and sentenced to jail. Gary Harrington, a rainwater harvester from Oregon, was convicted of harvesting rainwater and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He willingly served his time as a protest of the ban on rainwater harvesting.

A study was done in 2014, and it showed that harvesting rainwater would greatly reduce water bills. It was also shown that harvesting rainwater is the best thing to do for the environment.

My Two Cents

How does rainwater belong to someone else? Rain belongs to no one. It is a water source that is severely underused and one that can greatly reduce water shortages across the world. Can you imagine the amount of money people will save by just harvesting rainwater? It's not even about money; we would be doing incredible things for the environment. Rainwater is there for us to use. I don't understand why officials are blocking this substantial water source.

If you are looking into using rainwater as a water source, make sure your state allows you to do so.