The Issue is Bigger then Collecting Rainwater
By Susan Steffen-Kraft
You may find out what could happen if you collect water without consulting the government as you might need a lawyer in many cases. It is alright it seems for mega corporations to bottle water and sell it for profit, but to collect your own is asking for trouble and for the government to meddle in your affairs.
Mr. Harrinton of Eagle Point, Oregon got in trouble for collecting 20 million gallons of rainwater on his property. He collected them in his reservoirs and for his trouble of being innovative, was jailed for 30 days and then received a fine for $1,500.
Having been given the permits to do so, he was then told that it was only lawful to collect the rainwater in barrels on the roof or other solid surfaces and as such to give the permits back. He has been ordered to drain the reservoirs which to me is a total waste of the water and is fighting to keep that water. He believes the government is nothing but a big bully and that if one lays down and rolls over then they will become even bigger bullies. That is so true.
Seattle, Washington has taken a different approach, however. They have encouraged new developments even though the state had water laws that said any rain collector had to go through a permit process according to a state hydrologist and lawyer by the name of Kurt Unger. But it would be a process to rewrite laws and or force everyone in Seattle to get a permit so Seattle was granted a city-wide permit that allowed the residents to set up cisterns and the water storage units without becoming criminals.
Besides according to Mr. Unger the water would just drain into the Puget Sound so who would really care. A sensible way for the city to look at it rather then take many of its citizens to court being as so many trapped into that source it would have been silly for the state to resist. This is what happens when people stand together as they obviously did in Seattle the Emerald City!
Mr. Harrinton of Eagle Point, Oregon got in trouble for collecting 20 million gallons of rainwater on his property. He collected them in his reservoirs and for his trouble of being innovative, was jailed for 30 days and then received a fine for $1,500.
Having been given the permits to do so, he was then told that it was only lawful to collect the rainwater in barrels on the roof or other solid surfaces and as such to give the permits back. He has been ordered to drain the reservoirs which to me is a total waste of the water and is fighting to keep that water. He believes the government is nothing but a big bully and that if one lays down and rolls over then they will become even bigger bullies. That is so true.
Seattle, Washington has taken a different approach, however. They have encouraged new developments even though the state had water laws that said any rain collector had to go through a permit process according to a state hydrologist and lawyer by the name of Kurt Unger. But it would be a process to rewrite laws and or force everyone in Seattle to get a permit so Seattle was granted a city-wide permit that allowed the residents to set up cisterns and the water storage units without becoming criminals.
Besides according to Mr. Unger the water would just drain into the Puget Sound so who would really care. A sensible way for the city to look at it rather then take many of its citizens to court being as so many trapped into that source it would have been silly for the state to resist. This is what happens when people stand together as they obviously did in Seattle the Emerald City!
In Utah, Mark Miller of Mark Miller Toyota, found out the hard way it was illegal for him to collect water because he should have had a valid water right. Of course, he was only collecting the water to wash his cars at his dealership. A worthy project for him to do being as water is scarce in Utah and thus the frivolous using of water to wash those cars would be helped by the fact he was using that free water falling from the skies onto his own property. Ah ha, wait a minute. Apparently, Utah feels that water belongs to the various government entities. I am sure that God is wondering about that one because the rain is falling from the heavens and no man on earth should claim to own the heavens or the rain.
Zechariah 10:1 says Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. From Amos 4:7 says "I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither."
For those of you not believing in the Bible then this would be no proof, of course, for those who do it makes it perfectly clear who owns the rain. For every politician who goes to church and has sworn an oath on the Bible, perhaps they better reread these verses among many others once again.
Salt Lake City worked out a deal with Mr. Miller allowing him to use their water. How generous of them I might add because using that water is more thrifty and lessens the demand for water coming from the taps in homes or businesses and the various facilities the water comes from and actually helps conserve that valuable commodity.
Rainwater from your home or business roof reduces the amount of storm runoff that flows into a city’s sewer system. The excess runoff when the heavy storms come often has the hazard of the discharge of raw sewage into area waterways. This often happens when the local treatment plant cannot handle the capacity of the combined water flow. When the rainwater is collected from the roof it tends to lessen the amount of water that makes it to the sewer system.
I would say that Utah needs to learn some lessons about the value of allowing someone to collect rainwater because it only helps them.
Zechariah 10:1 says Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. From Amos 4:7 says "I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither."
For those of you not believing in the Bible then this would be no proof, of course, for those who do it makes it perfectly clear who owns the rain. For every politician who goes to church and has sworn an oath on the Bible, perhaps they better reread these verses among many others once again.
Salt Lake City worked out a deal with Mr. Miller allowing him to use their water. How generous of them I might add because using that water is more thrifty and lessens the demand for water coming from the taps in homes or businesses and the various facilities the water comes from and actually helps conserve that valuable commodity.
Rainwater from your home or business roof reduces the amount of storm runoff that flows into a city’s sewer system. The excess runoff when the heavy storms come often has the hazard of the discharge of raw sewage into area waterways. This often happens when the local treatment plant cannot handle the capacity of the combined water flow. When the rainwater is collected from the roof it tends to lessen the amount of water that makes it to the sewer system.
I would say that Utah needs to learn some lessons about the value of allowing someone to collect rainwater because it only helps them.
Just what has happened to our basic rights? Since many states have passed laws that limit what you can do with rainwater or outright ban the collection of rainwater this issue highlights a serious overall problem in America today. That issue is the taking away of our freedoms and increasing government control. This argument could be used for the air we breathe becoming so silly and dangerous as to charge us an air tax. Laugh if you must, but "according to the U.S. Patent & Trademark office, U.S. corporations and universities already own 20% of your genetic code". Your own body is partially the property of someone else according to their claim. They own your land, body and water so how long will it be until they try to own the air you breathe and even possibly your mind. When it comes to the government tread very lightly.
Our government does not want self-reliant citizens because then you would not be begging them for the crumbs they would give you. They would keep us relying on them for water and power and anything else they can manipulate the masses into begging for. The freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as this nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved that can even go so far as to tell you how much and what to do with your water.
The problem is that many states, especially the Western ones, are experiencing drought problems which, of course, means a shortage of water and thus, our government has come to the point where executive orders have been issued that will allow them to take your stockpile of water away. This will then allow them to share it with those who did not prepare. It should be legal to collect rainwater for survival purposes and at 3 gallons per person a day when in survival mode and then one must also realize that you will need it for laundry and personal hygiene.
This is an issue of common sense and standing against tyranny! We must all join the battle to survive literately and figuratively.
Our government does not want self-reliant citizens because then you would not be begging them for the crumbs they would give you. They would keep us relying on them for water and power and anything else they can manipulate the masses into begging for. The freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as this nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved that can even go so far as to tell you how much and what to do with your water.
The problem is that many states, especially the Western ones, are experiencing drought problems which, of course, means a shortage of water and thus, our government has come to the point where executive orders have been issued that will allow them to take your stockpile of water away. This will then allow them to share it with those who did not prepare. It should be legal to collect rainwater for survival purposes and at 3 gallons per person a day when in survival mode and then one must also realize that you will need it for laundry and personal hygiene.
This is an issue of common sense and standing against tyranny! We must all join the battle to survive literately and figuratively.
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