Recycling rainwater a crime?

Could be, at least in Washington State.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/371529_rain21.html

 

A friend of mine who lives in Colorado has dealt with this for years, and she's not happy about it.

 

You can have my rainwater when you pry it out of my cold, clammy pickle barrels!

 

That is absolutely outrageous. Now we have laws governing the world's natural resources? Give me a break.

 

Sorry, but that law is all wet.

 

If recycling rainwater has become a crime, how do you explain the growing number of solar panels and use of solar electricity? And, no, there is no difference between sunlight and water in such as case as this.

 

Yes there is.

 

How so? I don't disagree with you and my comment was purely without research, but I don't understand how people can use sunlight basically "without permission" and then needing permission to use water which is another natural resource.

 

Some places water is scarce.

If the city is expecting rainwater to run through pipes and eventually into a water treatment facility for the town's drinking water and people are collecting it off their roofs, you're making personal use of a finite amount of water.

Obviously, a barrel is not a big deal but if you build a large cistern, that can collect a lot of water.

If you put up a solar panel on your roof, it's not like that beam of sunlight was going to the city's solar panel.

 

That's true. I didn't think about places where water restrictions are strict.

 

Something -- oh, living there two years -- tells me there ain't a problem with Washington running out of rain anytime soon.

 

It's stupid to write stories about rarely enforced laws as if you might be committing some crime -- unless its your intention to write about silly laws on the books.