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Comment by Terry Waldele on February 7, 2015 at 11:37

Let's face it: Local and state governments have jurisdiction over water resources and can legally preempt individual rights.  Well water, for example, is under government jurisdiction to protect the public, and there are many other examples of the governments control of natural resources to protect the public. When an individual ignores a city's legal right to collect runoff to provide water to the public, that individual better be prepared for the consequences.  If that individual objects to the city's enforcement of its legislatively granted rights, there are legal ways to approach the issue such as changing the state law or proving that the city is acting outside its authority.  In my home state of Oregon, irrigators must obtain state permission to remove water from rivers and streams to irrigate their crops, and the amount they can remove is limited so that each irrigator gets their fair share while at the same time ensuring that it doesn't harm the aquatic ecosystem.  It's like a logging company cutting down more trees than their permit allows or an angler taking more fish than his license allows.  Again, public need supersedes private need, and Medford's enforcement of its legal rights is far from "government intrusion".  PS:  I'm not a socialist.  I just believe in obeying the law, or if the law is stupid, trying to repeal it.

Comment by Jan Carter on February 7, 2015 at 10:13

This seems to be a good guide for who is doing what as far as our states are concerned.  Best I can tell it is all over the place!  Some states offer incentives to collect and use "grey water" while others will put you in jail for it.  One study shows 97% of rainwater in most states either evaporates or is used by plants.  Therefor it cannot really be "owned" by the state.

http://www.harvesth2o.com/statues_regulations.shtml

Comment by Shlomo ben Maved on February 7, 2015 at 4:29

Hope not!

My in-laws place in Colo, has IIRC a 15,000 gallon cistern in the basement in addition to their well. That water is used for laundry, watering the lawn/garden and of course when the well runs dry (happened once in 50 years and why they installed it in the first place).  

What we had done to ours is similar to the news article but since the largest I could get in barrels was 200 gallons I put three together, daisy chained, in the front and rear of the house and the same for the "barn".  The water is for irrigation, the animals and the one at the rear of the house is hooked to ts own interior tap for shampooing of hair. 

Our well is electric feed (pump) but I had found an old metal standup pump (ca. 1920) and attached that as well so if the electricity should go out we can still get water.

We are going to be building an additional to the rear of thr house that requires a basement foundation and we are toying with the idea of putting in a cistern beneath the slab but as that's a few years away we can decide later.

Water isn't really a problem as there is a meandering [nearly] six acre stock pond on the proprty that is shared with my neighbour for his cattle.  At its deepest it's 22 feet so we could winter fish but we haven't ever done so.  When it was being dug out they encountered some very large glacier deposited boulders (house size) and just left them in place and dug around them.  We get our limits of ducks and geese every year.  The blighters parade through our yard and truck garden at their leisure and we usually have a few families nesting.  

There are some benefits of living 50km from the city.

Comment by James Cole on February 7, 2015 at 2:13

And I seem to remember that Colorado is also making it a crime to collect rainwater.

Comment by Jan Carter on February 6, 2015 at 17:51

and yet in the US we have this? http://www.naturalnews.com/046359_oregon_rainwater_collection_big_g...

Comment by James Cole on February 6, 2015 at 16:52

On the island of Bermuda every house is mandated by law to have a rain collection system.  In my early days in the navy, my ship pulled into Bermuda and we ran the evaps at 100% capacity to make water for the island.  Their only source of fresh water is from rain.

Comment by Jan Carter on February 6, 2015 at 11:43

wow, even if you live in a city this is a convenient way to store from rainwater

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on February 5, 2015 at 17:08

Jan, I wouldn't!

Comment by Jan Carter on February 5, 2015 at 16:28

OK, I have a question

why would you carry this in your pack instead of a flare?

http://www.survivalkit.com/blog/make-pull-fuse-smoke-bomb/

Comment by James Cole on February 4, 2015 at 15:22

Reeds, pussy-willow, weeping willow branches, cat-tails, grapevine, ferns, ivy, any thin new growth tree that is pliable.  If I remember correctly wheat and oat straw make good baskets, although it takes a bit of practice to get good at it. 

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