Collecting rain water.

[oosik]

I wonder - you install a roof line gutter and direct it into a barrel. This is in a state that prohibits such actions. Who is going to contact you and tell you to discontinue this collection action. Do these states have rain police. I'm glad I live in a state where such foolishness is in other areas.

 

[R134a]

Its very simple to understand. They want to TAX you ! Once they TAX something, then it becomes OK:stirthepot:

 

[PILOON]

We probably have it all wrong.
They enact bylaws so that in the future they can collect fines and taxes, oh and emit permits.
Problem is the bureaucracy keeps growing and it gets hungrier all the time.
As it is 1/2 of our incomes goes to support that bureaucracy.

 

[Egon]

Water in all its forms is more regulated/controlled than most of us realize. You may find that almost all water is spoken for. It's just not enforced in most areas.

 

[oosik]

I do know that water rights go WAY BACK in history. Having a document issued by the state or federal government or right issued by the crown to withdraw a certain amount of water from a lake or river is a very valuable commodity. Many times it is as valuable or more than the land it serves.

 

[GSVette]

Welcome to the wacky, wonderful world of water law-every state is different and there are vast differences as you move west.

Washington recently had a state Supreme Court decision that, in effect said, ‘just because you drill a well (with state Dept. of Ecology permission btw) your aren’t necessarily entitled to take any of the water in said hole’ effectively overturning 100+ years of western water law and numerous legal opinions regarding ‘permit exempt domestic wells’. The decision was ‘to protect minimum stream inflows and senior water rights’-really a way to grab more money from the citizenry.

Legislators ‘fixed’ the resulting chaos a year later. The ‘fix’ entails you paying the state and county more money for less water out of the well.

 

[oosik]

Yes - those in the know realize how truly valuable water right and in particular - senior water rights are. In many areas water rights are the modern day gold.

 

[dmccarty]

Yes - those in the know realize how truly valuable water right and in particular - senior water rights are. In many areas water rights are the modern day gold.

Exactly. And it is shocking for us in areas without water/rain shortage to hear about these water rights. Just not something many of us are aware exists.

Tis a big thing in CA right now where the cities are trying to take the water from the farmers. That is going to get danged interesting to watch, and if the cities win, the US is going to have less fresh fruit and veggies to eat.

Later,
Dan

 

[GSVette]

Yes - those in the know realize how truly valuable water right and in particular - senior water rights are. In many areas water rights are the modern day gold.

Yes they are- however Hirst really wasn’t about ‘protecting senior water rights’ it was really about the state (and the tribes) finding a way to make a bunch of money off domestic wells-mostly via the purchase and sale of water rights from water banks.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

MD has a rain tax...

 

[newbury]

MD has a rain tax...

But that is not for collecting rainwater, rather for having impervious surface which the water runs off and into the storm drains.

Maryland
A stormwater management fee was established via House Bill 987 (April 2012) and signed into law by then-governor Martin O'Malley, affecting the largest urban jurisdictions in Maryland (nine counties and the City of Baltimore) in order to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act as it concerns the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Tax Foundation states House Bill 987 "was passed in response to a decree by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally known as the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load, which identified mandatory reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment that damage the Chesapeake Bay." This mandate from the EPA was mandated to the states of Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Maryland is the only state that has levied a tax to meet the EPA’s standards.[4] Polluted runoff is the only source in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that is still increasing, as of 2018.[5][6] This tax, of course, does not tax rain but has been implemented in varying ways at the county level, such as a flat fee per property owner, or based on impervious surface square footage.

The law specifies that accrued funds must be used for specified stormwater pollution-related purposes.[7]

This law was modified in 2015 to make the county-assessed fees optional rather than mandatory while still holding the counties responsible for making progress on managing polluted runoff.[8]

from Rain tax - Wikipedia

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Nice PC writeup.

Except there are no storm drains anywhere near me, nor does my little impervious surface area (compared to my total acreage) contribute any additional runoff. Nor is the tax proportional to impervious surface. Nor does the tax contribute anything to helping the chesapeake bay. This is purely a "how much money can be sucked from your wallet" tax.
It is purely a rain tax.

 

[bunyip]

MD has a rain tax...

Don't let our Government know that because they would sue us when we have a drought as it would be seen as a form of tax evasion.

 

[Jstpssng]

Here we have so much water that we're giving it away, so that they can sell it to the rest of you suckas!... Tapping in: Poland Spring stirs up debate | Defending Water Network HOME

Note that this is the first which came up in the search engine, I don't necessarily agree or disagree with the source. I do believe that someday we will realize that clean water is more valuable than oill

 

[jaxs]

Here we have so much water that we're giving it away, so that they can sell it to the rest of you suckas!... I do believe that someday we will realize that clean water is more valuable than oill

I agree 100% and the root cause will be the same as 99% of all problems that effect intire earth.

 

[Wagtail]

I agree 100% and the root cause will be the same as 99% of all problems that effect intire earth.

Rap/hip-hop/'gangsta' music?

Sure, it's a huge problem but...

 

[JamesHW]

At our city house (40.7 inches annual rainfall) they encourage and subsidize rain barrels and rain gardens to divert roof runoff into the aquifer instead of the storm drains. The sunken gardens are directly fed from the roof and have plants that pollinators use. We have a rain garden at the edge of the front yard and plan to get a rain barrel in the back yard to water the garden with unchlorinated water. Properties with impermeable surfaces above a certain sq footage can also get subsidies to replace with permeable surfaces.

At the farm (44 inches annual rainfall) the entire property between two ravines is over a shallow aquifer contained in sand and lacustrine deposits. In gullys and ravines we’ve identified at least six springs that correspond to where we think the water table is. The two streams that cross the property are essentially spring fed, as water doesn’t run off so much just soak in. Our house well has a point at 25 feet. Very nice tasting water. Deep wells in the area can tend to have sulfur or other issues, so we value our underground pond.

 

[Oaktree]

Our house well has a point at 25 feet. Very nice tasting water. Deep wells in the area can tend to have sulfur or other issues, so we value our underground pond.

Same here. Our shallow (dug) well is only ~7' deep, but (knock knock) have never had problems with it going dry. Did have to clean it out when we first bought the place...it had silted up right to the top! Sits about 25' up the side of a mountain, so we get plenty of pressure with just gravity. Best tasting water I've ever had.
Like you, drilled wells around here can taste nasty.

 

[bunyip]

We have a bore nearby that used to cost about $50 for a tanker full for topping up tanks and pools, when the drought hit a few years ago the government decided to take control of this privately owned resource and regulated who got water and they also invoiced them for what they took at about $350 for a tanker.
Great to have the government looking after us.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

We have a bore nearby that used to cost about $50 for a tanker full for topping up tanks and pools, when the drought hit a few years ago the government decided to take control of this privately owned resource and regulated who got water and they also invoiced them for what they took at about $350 for a tanker.
Great to have the government looking after us.

When I visited Tamworth in March of 2014, they were in a severe drought. One home I visited had not mowed his lawn in a year. And pastures were all bare soil, instead of grassy pastures.

Every home I visited in Tamworth had a gutter system to collect rain water which was used for toilets and other water needs. Most homes were also connected to a 'city' water system for drinking and cooking water.

I understood at that time that a rainwater collection system was required on all homes and businesses.