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It's illegal to have a rain barrel in Colorado, but that may be about to change
A rain barrel is an easy way for homeowners to conserve and reuse water.
Colorado is revisiting the decision to make it illegal for residents to
have their own barrels.
(Photo: Denise Lett/Shutterstock)
There's a saying in Colorado that "whiskey's for drinking and water's
for fighting." For a long time, state Rep. Jessie Danielson and several
of her legislative colleagues have been fighting for water — or, more
specifically, fighting for the right of homeowners to conserve rainwater in rain barrels. It's a fight they believe they're about to win.
Colorado is the only state in the nation where it's illegal to have a residential rain barrel.
Danielson of Wheat Ridge and state Rep. Daneya Esgar of Pueblo sponsored a bill in the Colorado Legislature, House Bill 16-1005 (pdf), that would allow homeowners to collect rain from a residential rooftop. The bill has passed the state House with overwhelming bipartisan support, and its fate now rests with the state Senate. The bill has several key restrictions. One would limit homeowners to two rain barrels with a combined capacity of 110 gallons. Another specifies that the collected water would have to be used for outdoor irrigation on the homeowner's property.
"I am optimistic that the Senate will also strongly support this measure," said Danielson. "My farming family has been stewards of Colorado water for generations, and the science shows rain barrels are a common sense way for homeowners to conserve water," she said. The House approved the same bill last year, and the Senate's Agriculture Committee sent it to the Senate floor. However, it died on the calendar there without coming to a floor vote.
Danielson thinks the outcome will be different this year. That's because she and Esgar have worked with former opponents of the bill to assure them the intent is not to infringe on anyone's water rights. "The water laws of Colorado are complicated," Danielson said. "We just want people to be able to have a couple of rain barrels to water their tomatoes. This bill makes sense to them."
So why is Danielson optimistic the rain barrel effort will finally succeed this year?
"We have worked with the Colorado Farm Bureau, agricultural organizations and House members who were concerned that the bill would compromise the water rights laws that we have in Colorado," Danielson said. Those efforts produced two critical amendments that provide most skeptics with an assurance that the bill, if it becomes law, would not infringe on anyone's water rights. The amendments helped break the logjam of opposition to the rain barrel efforts. Most of those who opposed the legislation are now in support of the rain barrel bill."
If the Senate passes the bill, it will go to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk. It's too early to know what might happen if the bill does not pass both chambers. "The governor does not speculate on bills as they work through the legislative process — they can change dramatically before reaching his desk," said Kathy Green a spokesperson for the governor. If the bill becomes law, it would likely be August before Colorado homeowners could join the rest of the nation in attaching rain barrels to their downspouts.
If you're interested in the outcome of the legislation, you can follow the progress of the bill through Colorado's legislation tracker.
State
and local regulations regarding rainwater harvesting vary, so check
with your state's laws before setting one up at your house. (Photo:
dmitrymoi/Shutterstock)
Rainwater in other states
Colorado isn't the only state with laws that address rainwater harvesting. Record droughts and a host of other water-supply worries have prompted numerous other states to enact laws that impact the use of rain barrels, according to Katie Meehan, a research analyst with the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a non-partisan group that monitors the nation’s state law-making bodies.
States in which legislatures have passed statutes affecting rain water harvesting are Arkansas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More information about the water harvesting laws in these states is available on the NCSL website.
As of July 15, 2015, no other states have laws or regulations about harvesting rainwater, Meehan said.
Texas and Ohio are among states that have devoted a considerable amount of attention to rainwater harvesting and have enacted laws regulating the practice, Meehan said. Texas offers a sales tax exemption on the purchase of rainwater harvesting equipment, she added, pointing out that both Texas and Ohio allow the practice for potable purposes, something other states frequently exclude from their laws and regulations. Oklahoma passed the Water for 2060 Act in 2012 to promote pilot projects for rainwater and gray water use, among other water saving techniques. Some states even promote rainwater harvesting with tax incentives, Meehan pointed out.
If a rain barrel is on your to-do list, though, it's always a good idea to check into whether your community might have regulations about rainwater capture. After all, what conservation-minded homeowners think is the right thing to do for the environment may not be the right thing according to local ordinances when it comes to harvesting rainwater.
Colorado is the only state in the nation where it's illegal to have a residential rain barrel.
Danielson of Wheat Ridge and state Rep. Daneya Esgar of Pueblo sponsored a bill in the Colorado Legislature, House Bill 16-1005 (pdf), that would allow homeowners to collect rain from a residential rooftop. The bill has passed the state House with overwhelming bipartisan support, and its fate now rests with the state Senate. The bill has several key restrictions. One would limit homeowners to two rain barrels with a combined capacity of 110 gallons. Another specifies that the collected water would have to be used for outdoor irrigation on the homeowner's property.
"I am optimistic that the Senate will also strongly support this measure," said Danielson. "My farming family has been stewards of Colorado water for generations, and the science shows rain barrels are a common sense way for homeowners to conserve water," she said. The House approved the same bill last year, and the Senate's Agriculture Committee sent it to the Senate floor. However, it died on the calendar there without coming to a floor vote.
Danielson thinks the outcome will be different this year. That's because she and Esgar have worked with former opponents of the bill to assure them the intent is not to infringe on anyone's water rights. "The water laws of Colorado are complicated," Danielson said. "We just want people to be able to have a couple of rain barrels to water their tomatoes. This bill makes sense to them."
So why is Danielson optimistic the rain barrel effort will finally succeed this year?
"We have worked with the Colorado Farm Bureau, agricultural organizations and House members who were concerned that the bill would compromise the water rights laws that we have in Colorado," Danielson said. Those efforts produced two critical amendments that provide most skeptics with an assurance that the bill, if it becomes law, would not infringe on anyone's water rights. The amendments helped break the logjam of opposition to the rain barrel efforts. Most of those who opposed the legislation are now in support of the rain barrel bill."
If the Senate passes the bill, it will go to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk. It's too early to know what might happen if the bill does not pass both chambers. "The governor does not speculate on bills as they work through the legislative process — they can change dramatically before reaching his desk," said Kathy Green a spokesperson for the governor. If the bill becomes law, it would likely be August before Colorado homeowners could join the rest of the nation in attaching rain barrels to their downspouts.
If you're interested in the outcome of the legislation, you can follow the progress of the bill through Colorado's legislation tracker.
State
and local regulations regarding rainwater harvesting vary, so check
with your state's laws before setting one up at your house. (Photo:
dmitrymoi/Shutterstock)
Rainwater in other states
Colorado isn't the only state with laws that address rainwater harvesting. Record droughts and a host of other water-supply worries have prompted numerous other states to enact laws that impact the use of rain barrels, according to Katie Meehan, a research analyst with the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a non-partisan group that monitors the nation’s state law-making bodies.
States in which legislatures have passed statutes affecting rain water harvesting are Arkansas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More information about the water harvesting laws in these states is available on the NCSL website.
As of July 15, 2015, no other states have laws or regulations about harvesting rainwater, Meehan said.
Texas and Ohio are among states that have devoted a considerable amount of attention to rainwater harvesting and have enacted laws regulating the practice, Meehan said. Texas offers a sales tax exemption on the purchase of rainwater harvesting equipment, she added, pointing out that both Texas and Ohio allow the practice for potable purposes, something other states frequently exclude from their laws and regulations. Oklahoma passed the Water for 2060 Act in 2012 to promote pilot projects for rainwater and gray water use, among other water saving techniques. Some states even promote rainwater harvesting with tax incentives, Meehan pointed out.
If a rain barrel is on your to-do list, though, it's always a good idea to check into whether your community might have regulations about rainwater capture. After all, what conservation-minded homeowners think is the right thing to do for the environment may not be the right thing according to local ordinances when it comes to harvesting rainwater.
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