Since my last post things seem to be changing, maybe.
Who does own the water that falls from the heavens? Who owns the sunlight that touches you on a cloudless day. How about the wind that blows over your property? Or the sky above you? Silly questions? Quess again there are those who feel that they have more rights to it than you do, and have created laws to back them up. But these laws may be changing.
Again I thank KSL.com for this bit of news.
Legislators reconsider law that outlaws using rain water
August 18th, 2008 @ 5:26pm
By John Hollenhorst
After we revealed last week that it's illegal for most people to collect and use the rain that falls on their roof, lawmakers are talking about changing the law.
We've received e-mails from people who are upset about this. They say, OK, if we don't own the rain, it's like making it illegal to use sunshine or the air that blows across your property. State Sen. Scott Jenkins has already filed a bill to change the law.
It's all a question of water rights. If you capture rain water in a barrel and sprinkle it on your flowers, you're technically breaking the law unless you hold a valid water right.
Pat Jones
Lawmaker Pat Jones hasn't decided yet if the law should be changed, but she's looking into it. "My first thought was, this is ridiculous that we can't collect our own rain water."
State officials argue there has to be an orderly system of defining who has the right to use state waters.
Boyd Clayton of the Utah Department of Natural Resources explained, "Because the rain water is the water supply that the state has."
Boyd Clayton
The state made an issue out of it in the case of car dealer Mark Miller. He built a rooftop system to capture and store rain water for his new car wash.
Sen. Jones said, "We shouldn't punish someone for doing what we feel is the right thing to do."
The state never enforces the law against home users of rain water, even though users could theoretically get jail time for repeated violations.
"Well then, let's change the law," Jones said, "because that doesn't make sense, either. If you're going to have a law, enforce the law."
Ultimately, the city of Salt Lake agreed to let Miller use city water rights. Officials say that should reassure people downstream who have made investments based on their own water rights.
Clayton said, "That's the idea of the water rights system, is to protect the people who put water to use and who want to put water to use. They ought to have some certainty about what to expect from everyone else."
The state even argues Mark Miller himself benefits by pinning down his legal right to the water. "His investment is secure because he has the right to use it," Clayton said.
Well, maybe so, but our story touched a nerve, especially with people who think it's just way too much government. Right after our story aired, Sen. Scott Jenkins filed a bill to change the law. He says the state shouldn't interfere with beneficial uses of rain water
Monday, August 25, 2008
Water Rights or Wrongs
Did you know that in the great state of Utah it is illegal to capture rain water? It is, believe it or not. The rain that falls techoly belongs to those who owns the water rights downstream.
Read this next part you may find interesting.
Catching rain water is against the law
August 12th, 2008 @ 11:49pm
By John Hollenhorst
Who owns the rain? Not you, it turns out. You're actually breaking the law if you capture the rain falling on your roof and pour it on your flower bed! A prominent Utah car dealer found that out when he tried to do something good for the environment.
Rebecca Nelson captures rainwater in a barrel, and she pours it on her plants. "We can fill up a barrel in one rainstorm. And so it seems a waste to just let it fall into the gravel," she said.
Car dealer Mark Miller wanted to do pretty much the same thing on a bigger scale. He collects rainwater on the roof of his new building, stores it in a cistern and hopes to clean cars with it in a new, water-efficient car wash. But without a valid water right, state officials say he can't legally divert rainwater. "I was surprised. We thought it was our water," Miller said.
State officials say it's an old legal concept to protect people who do have water rights. Boyd Clayton, the deputy state engineer, said, "Obviously if you use the water upstream, it won't be there for the person to use it downstream."
"Utah's the second driest state in the nation. Our water laws ought to catch up with that," Miller says.
So what about the little guy, watering with rainwater at home? Will anybody do anything about that violation of the law? Clayton said, "If she really does that, then she ought to have a water right to do it." He added that they would not likely make an issue out of it, though, because they have "bigger fish to fry."
After months of discussion, city and state officials worked out a tentative compromise with the bigger fish, Mark Miller Toyota. Jeff Niermeyer, the Salt Lake City director of public utilities, said, "He would basically be using a Salt Lake City water right and diverting it under our name."
State officials say the Mark Miller agreement could become a blueprint for other rainwater projects. Homeowner projects, although technically illegal, are likely to stay off the state radar screen.
I thank KSL.com for this news story.
Interesting isn't it. That makes me a lawbreaker, because I collect rain water, off my roof into a barrel for the house plants. I also collect rain water from an acre of cleared ground and funnel it into a 6000 gallon cistern to water my horses on mountain dry ground. More on that later
Read this next part you may find interesting.
Catching rain water is against the law
August 12th, 2008 @ 11:49pm
By John Hollenhorst
Who owns the rain? Not you, it turns out. You're actually breaking the law if you capture the rain falling on your roof and pour it on your flower bed! A prominent Utah car dealer found that out when he tried to do something good for the environment.
Rebecca Nelson captures rainwater in a barrel, and she pours it on her plants. "We can fill up a barrel in one rainstorm. And so it seems a waste to just let it fall into the gravel," she said.
Car dealer Mark Miller wanted to do pretty much the same thing on a bigger scale. He collects rainwater on the roof of his new building, stores it in a cistern and hopes to clean cars with it in a new, water-efficient car wash. But without a valid water right, state officials say he can't legally divert rainwater. "I was surprised. We thought it was our water," Miller said.
State officials say it's an old legal concept to protect people who do have water rights. Boyd Clayton, the deputy state engineer, said, "Obviously if you use the water upstream, it won't be there for the person to use it downstream."
"Utah's the second driest state in the nation. Our water laws ought to catch up with that," Miller says.
So what about the little guy, watering with rainwater at home? Will anybody do anything about that violation of the law? Clayton said, "If she really does that, then she ought to have a water right to do it." He added that they would not likely make an issue out of it, though, because they have "bigger fish to fry."
After months of discussion, city and state officials worked out a tentative compromise with the bigger fish, Mark Miller Toyota. Jeff Niermeyer, the Salt Lake City director of public utilities, said, "He would basically be using a Salt Lake City water right and diverting it under our name."
State officials say the Mark Miller agreement could become a blueprint for other rainwater projects. Homeowner projects, although technically illegal, are likely to stay off the state radar screen.
I thank KSL.com for this news story.
Interesting isn't it. That makes me a lawbreaker, because I collect rain water, off my roof into a barrel for the house plants. I also collect rain water from an acre of cleared ground and funnel it into a 6000 gallon cistern to water my horses on mountain dry ground. More on that later
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