Collecting rainwater now illegal
in many states as Big Government claims ownership over our water
Monday, July 26,
2010
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
(NaturalNews) 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?)
Outlawing rainwater
collection in other states
Utah isn't the only state with rainwater collection bans, either.
Colorado and Washington also have rainwater collection restrictions
that limit the free use of rainwater, but these restrictions vary among
different areas of the states and legislators have passed some laws to
help ease the restrictions.
In Colorado, two new laws were recently passed that exempt
certain small-scale rainwater collection systems, like the kind people
might install on their homes, from collection restrictions.
Prior to the passage of these laws, Douglas County, Colorado, conducted
a study on how rainwater collection affects aquifer and groundwater
supplies. The study revealed that letting people collect rainwater on
their properties actually reduces demand from water facilities and
improves conservation.
Personally, I don't think a study was even necessary to come to this
obvious conclusion. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out
that using rainwater instead of tap water is a smart and useful way to
conserve this valuable resource, especially in areas like the West
where drought is a major concern.
Additionally, the study revealed that only about three percent of
Douglas County's precipitation ended up in the streams and rivers that
are supposedly being robbed from by rainwater collectors. The other 97
percent either evaporated or seeped into the ground to be used by
plants.
This hints at why bureaucrats can't really use the argument that
collecting rainwater prevents that water from getting to where it was
intended to go. So little of it actually makes it to the final
destination that virtually every household could collect many rain
barrels worth of rainwater and it would have practically no effect on
the amount that ends up in streams and rivers.
It's all about control, really
As long as people remain unaware and uninformed about important issues,
the government will continue to chip away at the freedoms we enjoy. The
only reason these water restrictions are finally starting to change for
the better is because people started to notice and they worked to do
something to reverse the law.
Even though these laws restricting water collection have been on the
books for more than 100 years in some cases, they're slowly being
reversed thanks to efforts by citizens who have decided that enough is
enough.
Because if we can't even freely collect the rain that falls all around
us, then what, exactly, can we freely do? The rainwater issue
highlights a serious overall problem in America today: diminishing
freedom and increased government control.
Today, we've basically been reprogrammed to think that we need
permission from the government to exercise our inalienable rights, when
in fact the government is supposed to derive its power from us.
The American Republic was designed so that government would serve the
People to protect and uphold freedom and liberty. But increasingly, our
own government is restricting people from their rights to engage in
commonsense, fundamental actions such as collecting rainwater or buying
raw milk from the farmer next door.
Today, we are living under a government that has slowly siphoned off
our freedoms, only to occasionally grant us back a few limited ones
under the pretense that they're doing us a benevolent favor.
Fight back against enslavement
As long as people believe their rights stem from the government (and
not the other way around), they will always be enslaved. And whatever
rights and freedoms we think we still have will be quickly eroded by a
system of bureaucratic power that seeks only to expand its control.
Because the same argument that's now being used to restrict rainwater
collection could, of course, be used to declare that you have no
right to the air you breathe, either. After all, governments could
declare that air to be somebody else's air, and then they could charge
you an "air tax" or an "air royalty" and demand you pay money for every
breath that keeps you alive.
Think it couldn't happen? Just give it time. The government already
claims it owns your land and house, effectively. If you really think
you own your home, just stop paying property taxes and see how long you
still "own" it. Your county or city will seize it and then sell it to
pay off your "tax debt." That proves who really owns it in the first
place... and it's not you!
How about the question of who owns your body? According to the U.S.
Patent & Trademark office, U.S. corporations and universities
already own 20% of your genetic code. Your own body, they claim, is
partially the property of someone else.
So if they own your land, your water and your body, how long before
they claim to own your air, your mind and even your soul?
Unless we stand up against this tyranny, it will creep upon us, day
after day, until we find ourselves totally enslaved by a world of
corporate-government collusion where everything of value is owned by
powerful corporations -- all enforced at gunpoint by local law
enforcement.
About the author: Mike Adams is a holistic
nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment
and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than
1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural
health topics, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the
world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his
articles. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no
money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the
companies he promotes. He has created over 100 CounterThink cartoons
and produced several popular hip-hop songs on socially-conscious
topics. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company
that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to
subscribers. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a
non-profit consumer protection group, and pursues hobbies such as
Pilates, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. Known
by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions
statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org