I read that law has been, or is being, updated. It was originally based on ageold water rights laws leftover from frontier ranching days, when cattle barons ruled. The barons got rid of a lot of folks by cutting them off from water. I can't remember where I was reading about that, perhaps a rainbarrel thread on Cottage Gardens.

Lorna

I'm happy to hear that because the law is insane. To me rain is like sunshine or oxygen, you can't buy rights to it. The whole thing reminds of the Simpson's episode when Mr. Burns blocks the sun from the town.

My mom used to work for a law firm that specialized ONLY in Colorado water law. I guess it's a pretty big deal out there. She said the laws were many and complex, so this doesn't surprise me. My dad was a city manager in two Colorado cities, so I understand that Colorado has many, many laws and regulations that would make me pull my hair out.

I do wonder about the verbiage here, though: "...an individual may not capture and use water to which he/she does not have a right." Does this mean that you don't have a right to God's good water to which he has given us all to share, or that you cannot collect water from a property that you do not own? I'd look into it if you haven't already. You might be able to collect only from your own yard??

For a "conservative state," though, you'd think they'd want you to do more to conserve your water. ;)

Good luck--it could be worse. My parents now live in southern Arizona and my poor mother cannot keep anything growing that does not have prickers or thorns. She waters her small "I-remember-what-it-was-like-to-live-in-Ohio-and-have-soft-green-foliage" garden twice a day and has really bad luck--even with the "Arizona Sunflowers." Must be a misnomer.

Back in the 1850s people bought rights to water run off, so they actually have a right to all the water that could/would run off your property into their watershed. Wikipedia has an article about it under rain barrel.

This one should be in one of those humor books about outdated laws that are ridiculous... laws like "In Los Angeles, It is not legal to bathe two babies at the same time in the same tub."

I live in Aurora, Colorado, and when I bought my house two years ago I learned that I have no right to the water that falls from the sky onto my property. That water belongs to Aurora, and I can't intervene to grab any of it and use it for my own purposes. All the water that falls from the sky onto Aurora has to be allowed to soak into the ground and go into the Aurora water table.

I do have a bucket beneath one of my downspouts. (Ssh! Don't tell!) That's actually illegal, but a lot of people do it, and the "water police" probably have too much to do to worry about a gallon of rainwater here and there.

I agree that it's a stupid, ludicrous law. If water falls from the sky, it soaks into the ground on my property. If I put a bucket in the way of that water, or if I use water from washing dishes, or from warming up my shower, and water my vegetables with it, it STILL soaks into the ground on my property. Same exact result. It's not like I'm stealing Aurora's water and selling it on the black market to other countries or something.

I don't get how Aurora can say that you can't have a rain barrel, even under its own law. I mean, if you can have rain gutters, which after all, move the water from where it is falling to a different spot where it flows to the ground, you can have a rain barrel. As you note, all the barrel does is change the spot where the water eventually goes into the ground -- in your garden, or down the drain in your bathroom, or wherever. That is, the barrel does no more than a gutter and downspout do, change the point at which the water goes back to enter the soil on the way to the water table. (Ditto for gray water use.)

It's hard for people in water-rich areas to comprehend, but it's literally this simple: We get so little precipitation here that if all were allowed to collect all they needed (impossible, actually!) there'd be a measurably lessened flow of water in our 7 main drainages. It's a (partially) mass flow/balance issue, and is indeed a real, foreseeable problem!

I speak as a geologist, so know this stuff pretty well!
So, yes, whatever water any mythical "God' pees down upon us all, it is for ALL, not just the selfish, Adam Smith-inspired individual.
That's the short of it!

OK, that sounds good in theory, but why can't you reuse grey water? It sounds like if everyone dumped their spagetti water or dish water on their plants, it would mean more water in the main drainages, no?

"if all were allowed to collect all they needed (impossible, actually!) there'd be a measurably lessened flow of water in our 7 main drainages"

I don't get it. People don't "collect" it to, like, put in the bank. They collect it to put on the garden or wash their car or whatever, and it then goes right into the "7 main drainages." Doesn't it? In fact, isn't it better that people wash their dishes in it, then pour it on their gardens and back into the drainage, than washing their dishes and having to turn on their tap to water their garden? I don't see why displacing the point at which the water enters the ground is a problem at all.

Here are some questions for you, however. In the arid west, are people allowed to use lawn spriklers? Have public fountains? Use spray irrigation on crops? If so, the regulation of rain barrels is idiotic. These practices, unlike the use of rain barrels, actually do deprive the watershed of supply, since the dry air of the west sucks the moisture out of the spray and sends it along to us in the Northeast. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see Western cities and states regulating these kinds of practices. It's this kind of thing they ought to focus on, not the local collection of rain water for local use or the re-use of graywater, which are largely inoffensive.

I'm actually interested and would appreciate a response. I'm certainly no expert about this, and if I'm wrong, I'd like to know it.

I have heard that in Las Vegas they do use alot of grey water for their fountains and stuff. More citys need to follow their lead. I have also heard that the main problem with the Colorado river is that it supplys California with alot of it's water. That state is not in good shape, water wise.
I agree that if you water your plants with grey water it is much better than water from the tap. Some of these laws are narrow minded and don't really solve the real problem, they are a bandaid.

Never thought I'd see the day when Texas was actually more sane than Colorado! We had 2/10 of an inch of rain yesterday, and I collected about 70 gallons of rain water in my barrels. Every drop will go on the gardens, as does my vegetable washing water and cooking water. I cannot see why collecting and using rain water is going to hurt any town or watershed.

The lady who started this all off lives near here, and filed for a water right to be able to collect the rain water for her organic farm. Filing for the legal right is what got this whole ball rolling. In actual practice, plenty of people have rain barrels, use grey water, and so on - probably illegally, but who is going to care?

OTOH, in an area where 13" of annual precipitation is normal and we've been in a lengthy drought, water is the determining factor in just about everything - urban growth vs agriculture, and senior / junior water rights. I read somewhere that 19 out of 20 water lawyers practice in Colorado. Some of the biggest political / economic plays in the country are now in the field of water, eg the Animas LaPlata Project, and Colorado farmers along the Platte recently had to quit pumping water to allow water to flow to Kansas, rendering their land pretty much useless.

The problem is only going to get worse with more and more people, less precipitation, and new demands on water as a resource - eg developing oil shale, whatever the merits, is going to be an huge water issue.

I'm NOT selfish or stupid! And it makes SQUAT bit of difference whether the water falls onto the ground in my yard or falls into a bucket and then is poured onto the ground in my yard the next day 15 feet away. For the love of Christ! I'm not exporting it out of the country! And I'm not selling it on the black market! I'm pouring water, that would have fallen on my property, onto my property. Um, like, duh.

And I fail to see how I'm harming my city or my country or the right-thinking way of life if I take the pint of water I boiled my spaghetti in and, instead of pouring it down the drain, I pour it onto my compost. Aurora and Colorado get the water either way.

And if I take a bucket of water from warming up my shower and pour it on my plants, that's illegal. But if I take the exact same bucket, fill it with water out of the tap after I've taken my shower and pour that on my plants, that's okay.

And, by the way, my degree is in chemistry, with supporting work in physics and cartography, and I worked several years for the Geological Society of America, so I think that should indicate that I'm not an idiot. I know one or two things, too.

I grew up in Lakewood, CO., and worked for the USGS for 16 years. I am so, so happy to live in FL even though our water supply is stressed.

Understand, I moved from Colorado in 1984, but even then, it was understood that the growth of Denver and its metro area was limited by Denver's water supply. Apparently, since that time, the water supply became unimportant and development became critical. Same is true in FL. Folks, it doesn't make sense in either state. You can't have unlimited growth without a readily available source of water!

I personally wish they would limit growth in Florida based on water supply. This town would stop growing right now. But no, they don't, and the time when the water is the least plentiful...winter...is when most of the people are here using it.

I'm seeing some strict water laws here in years to come, and I welcome them!

I'm going to be using rainbarrels to conserve water soon, and if this city doesn't like it, they can sue me!

Thats the law all over the west, rain water catchment uses water, and the water rights systems that ensure that you have water to drink are the same ones that tell you not to use water with out permission. If you don't like it move somewhere with more water.

I've been hearing quite a bit about the Great Lakes states trying to protect their rights to the water in the Great Lakes. There was a Canadian company who proposed shipping the water in tanker ships to Asia.
As a friend of mine said: "The Indians used to believe that no one could own the land, the very idea was laughable to them."
We think the water can't be owned, but this may change with supply!

* Posted by david52 z5CO (My Page) on
Thu, Jul 17, 08 at 17:03

The lady who started this all off lives near here, and filed for a water right to be able to collect the rain water for her organic farm. Filing for the legal right is what got this whole ball rolling. In actual practice, plenty of people have rain barrels, use grey water, and so on - probably illegally, but who is going to care?

I'm not sure if this post is talking about me as starting "this all off", but I wanted to say that I live on the Gulf Coast not CO. I can't believe they really enforce the law much (how could they?) but the principle of the thing upsets me. The water used eventually ends up in the ground, doesn't it?

The people here in Colorado are friendly and courteous, one of the reasons I moved here from the Midwest. Apparently the people in AK can't find happiness unless they're attacking and insulting strangers just to puff up their own egos. I am SO glad I live nowhere near there, and I don't plan to ever visit now that I know what the people are like.

And apparently people in AK don't know squat about Colorado, its issues, or its people and don't want to bother because after all that would get in the way of all the ego puffing that takes up so much of their time.

I'll try to explain it in baby language for you. The water falls from the sky. We call it rain. It lands on the ground and soaks into the water table.

Alternate scenario. The water, which we call rain, falls from the sky. It lands in a bucket. We take the bucket filled with water and pour it ON THE GROUND in the vicinity of vegetable plants where it then soaks into the water table.

The EXACT same thing happens EITHER WAY. Like, DUH!

Evapotranspiration happens.

I am so not an expert but I have been with my students to a run off display. If you take your rain barrel water and distribute it slowly it does not end up in the water table the same way abundant spring rains or gushing water from a down spout would. When you use a rain barrel there is not much excess. The plants and soil soak it up. Only excess gets to the water table. I have a rain barrel. If we get even 1/4" my 50 gal barrel fills up. I love it and am sorry for those who live under so many restrictions. As I tell my students our rights end where another's begin and the laws of the land are to protect the populous not the individual at times.

This is an interesting thread to say the least. Where I live in Ks we have no Arkansas river anymore because of the Colo water hogs. I have heard there was 500 inches of snow in the mountains this past winter, so there should be sufficient water for Dnvr. Incidentally I have heard the rain falls on the just and unjust alike.

Just a thought on the greywater... If I wash my clothes, dishes, self etc, and for an example, use 50 gal of water, and that water goes to the sewer, I pay for the 50 gal, and I believe ultimately that 50 gal gets treated and reused. If I want 50 gal to use on my yard, I pay for that 50 gal as well (pay to those who hold the water rights).
If I use that 50 gal of water for laundry, bathing etc, and have a system where my greywater goes to my yard, I am paying for 50 gal for both purposes, not for 100 gal. While from my point of view, that's great, for those that hold the water rights, it's not as good...
Also, if I store my rainwater until I need it, after the ground has dried, it likely will never make it to the watershed, thus potentially denying the water right holder to their right.
That said, I recently moved to Colorado, and was a bit startled when I learned about the rainwater rules, but I also work in Real Estate, so it wasn't really that surprising. I may join the clandestine rain barrel users, but right now I'm leaning toward xeriscape and water harvesting (redirecting from my gutters, but not storing it, so when we do get rain, my plants will get a deeper watering) which I do believe IS legal in CO.
Just my understanding of it all from some previous internet research. I haven't gone through my CO RE licensing class yet, I'm sure I'll learn more there. Please don't skewer me if I'm wrong...

BTW, not everyone in AK is snippy (that's where I moved here from) and there are some beautiful things to see there. Overall, Colorado Springs has probably the nicest overall attitude of anywhere I've moved to (5 states now), but Alaskans aren't all bad... :)

CO Springs is full of retired military. They know how to get along!! My dad hauled us around for 20 years. Military bases were the best for nice people!!

In Iowa they pay for their water by how many gallons of water they use, so they pay twice for the same water. Curious laws. If I were in CO I think the zero scape would be the way to go.

We have some ridiculous things in Orange County, California too. The Metropolitan Water District is offering a $300 rebate to replace a water thirsty lawn with artificial turf. At the same time five cities in Orange County have declared artificial turf illegal and subject to a $5000 fine for installing it. The worst offender (City of LaPalma) will fine you if your lawn turns brown from lack of water, and requires that 70% of your yard be covered with lawn.

Wow californian, that's crazy! I saw a house near here with a small patch of artificial lawn, it looks strange to me.
We're supposed to have a certain amount of lawn in the front yard according to covenants, but we have no HOA in my neighborhood, so I think our front lawn will be shrinking in the next couple years. I think we have more than required anyway. I'm not going zero-scape (aka a yard full of rocks) but I'm looking into low water plants. There are plants that survive and bloom in my backyard (no watering there except for the trees on occasion)so I plan to pluck the nice ones from the weeds, and find some more to go with them. We've actually gotten rain this week, and it turns out there is some kind of grass alive back there too.
BTW Arcy, we too are retired military...

UGH!! I meant, in Iowa where my in-laws are, they pay for their SEWER by how many gallons of water they use. Pay coming in and going out!

Incidentally of the last 24 months I spent 22 of them in southwest Colorado. I have been interested in water in the west for the past three years, since I moved to Colorado and realized that I really don't like hot dry places. I am only in AK for a little bit, while I'm here I figured I would change my location to here, I go back to Colorado on saturday.

Green,

I'm in CO Springs too and have a couple gutters running out to berry bushes. Partially due to drainage too near the house, but also to take advantage of water reclamation. Have known about the rain barrel ban for a long time and do not really understand it. To me, diverting water usage just seems to be smart. Some areas of land need more water and when we go through the heat/drought of this last July, a rain barrel would have been great to have.

And then there is the charge for water which runs off our lots. This is not the same water/sewage charges, a totally separate bill from the utility bill. It is an extra charge for water runoff and use of road drainage. But I'm in the Broadmoor and we have no sidewalks or road drains. Another cost I don't get.

When moving in here I xeriscaped the entire front yard. It was wall to wall grass, tore half of it out and the new xeriscape plantings have grown like weeds. One wouldn't even know they get little water, they love it here.

As for AK. I went to college there and loved it. Would have been a place to live for me if other life changes had not been there. It is beyond beautiful. Actually I volunteer with a manager who went to the same university and he is the greatest guy around. Great people live in all states, tis' people like this that make life good.

As for the Colorado river taking water away from another state. Half or more is bought by CA, we lose it to them and have for years. You can see the monster metal tubes along I-15 through UT/NV which carries this water.

Will be interesting to see what our climate and lifestyles in the near future does in changing such silly laws some of you have posted. Eludes me how our gov. comes up with them.

I was thinking of this conversation earlier, while watching the water from the sump pump pour out into the backyard. Technically, isn't that like a rain barrel (smirk). If it wasn't such a horrible idea, I'd store that water, but flooding the basement just isn't worth it. Actually, I'm a bit amazed at the water that has come out of that thing. We have a deep sump pit, and a pump, but it's not a permanant setup (plug the pump into the extension cord, run a garden hose out the window). I looked down the hole last week after the beginning of these recent rains, and saw some water down there. In the past few days I'd bet easily over 100 gal have pumped out, maybe more. It's been a few days since the last significant rainfall, and the pump still kicked on a few times today. The previous owners said they used it maybe one wet spring? Hmmm... Unless these rains just never happen here?

You know the other water rule I just don't get is "No Swimming" in the resevoirs. I think Denver Water owns all the resevoirs around here, and swimming isn't allowed. But it's ok to take your gas and oil leaking boat in there??
Really, I just want a place my poor hip dysplasic dog can swim.

Only good thing about soo many ppl living in vegas and the arid southwest is they are already forced to practice water conservation techniques we all will need someday in the hopefully distant overpopulated future.

IF you live someplace where there is a shortage of precipitation and you collect rainwater for your flowers then you are selfish! It would be like me collecting the polio vaccine for possible use on my cats and not sharing with you. ie, the cats are cute but pointless.

In Missouri we're blessed with an abundance of water and when I first visited the southwest I was turned off by the "brownness". Its sill how ppl go to far in trying to create a New England style landscape where it isn't natural. NO ONE in an area with a water shortage should be allowed to even have a east coast style lawn.

Don't just complain about my feelings, dare you to argue intellectually otherwise, admit you are selfish, or agree with me.

Well torondo, you demand an intelligent argument but you haven't given one yourself. All you have done is make insulting statements to people who's story you don't know. I think you are incredibly narrow minded. And if I remember right, your area was 'over blessed' with water this spring. I understand that people like to live in your area, but if I were to take your stance on generalizations, I would state 'why would anyone be dumb enough to live where it always floods?'

I mostly lurk here, and three other Gardenweb forums, actually contributing to only one or two on a regular basis. It saddens me to see an otherwise intelligent adult insulting others in these forums, and I see it fairly often on one of the other forums.

There is no need to reply to a person who has submitted a post that confronts or insults another. To do so merely motivates further similar behavior. A post can be ignored and we can go on and converse with those who have posted something we prefer to reply to.

Fighting publicly on a forum suppresses activity from people who really have something worthwhile to contribute and attracts even more people who like nothing more than verbally tearing others apart. I've even seen people correcting others' English and spelling. :(

That said, and back on topic, I had no idea there were places where you cannot collect rain water. I somewhat understand the thinking of the lawmakers who initiated the law, if water is in such short supply, simply because only so much water will soak into the ground during a rain or snow and the rest will run off unless it is collected for a later time. They apparently don't want their citizens having green lawns, lush flower beds, or vegetable gardens. I don't think I could live where I couldn't grow a garden, but someday I may have to, if we have the climate changes that are being predicted.

I heard that, in Arizona, there are so many people installing swimming pools and sprinkler systems that the evaporation is making the climate there more humid. I had an uncle who lived in Arizona years ago and he always used to say, "Yeah, it's hot. But it's a DRY hot, so it actually doesn't feel as hot as it is!"

I live in an area where we have torrential rains in spring and fall and some of us do collect water for use in July and August when only enough rain falls to make things really humid and miserable. It's really worse for plants to get used to having soggy roots and then all of a sudden to get no water to speak of at the same time that it is so terribly hot. I lose many plants each spring because the ground is too wet. Those that survive the mud will often die once the ground dries out, because the roots have not gone very deep. Gardening in Oklahoma is always a challenge. In years when we don't get the rains in the spring and fall, and sometimes that happens, then we have water rationing and suffer from many grass fires. It's really hard to find plants that consistently do well in Oklahoma because the climate here is inconsistent. There are other places that I would prefer to live. But my family is here, and my children have put down their roots here. Actually, I don't think anyplace is perfect.

There is a similar law in Osage County, Oklahoma. The Osage Indian tribe owns the mineral rights in all of Osage county. There may be other counties but that's the only one I know about. It was enacted because of oil, but I'm told it actually includes rocks. Apparently one cannot legally pick up rocks in Osage county to make a rock wall or a rock garden, etc., without getting permission from the Osage tribe. In my county, the mineral rights to any land we own may be purchased separately, but they are expensive. I'm not sure how that works if someone else purchases the mineral rights to land you own. Oil drilling is messy, messy, messy.

I don't think it's fair not to be able to collect the rain water that falls upon your property, or not to be able to use your grey water. Here, we are billed for water and sewer, and the sewer charges are calculated off of our water usage. When we water our gardens, we are getting charged as if we ran that water down our drains, regardless. If we have a bad water leak that floods our yard, however, the City will adjust our sewer bill according to what our billing normally is, but we still have to pay for the extra water that ran out on the ground.

I once tried to have a bypass installed on my kitchen drain that I could attach a hose to for use in my flower bed. I couldn't find a plumber who would do it. They all said it was in violation of City code. So I have to collect it in a bucket and carry it out, and that's a nuisance.

One of the things that I like about these forums is that I learn a little something from them every visit. Keep up the good work! --Ilene

yeah, I just always sound confrontational. No harm intended, just tell me you disagree and why.

Spogarden, you are VERY right, out of 3,790,000 square miles of the United States there is no good reason soo many of my neighbors have to live in the floodplain. Its dangerous, gets plenty of welfare dollars from us all building and rebuilding their levees, and I think is based on greed. I understand its good farmland but we build neighborhoods and shopping malls there! But that's me rambling off topic.

Toronado,
Am I also selfish if I collect rainwater for my vegetables?

I read somewhere a while back that there were people studying the rainfall and runoff. Most of the rainwater never makes much of anywhere, so it often isn't recharging the water supply at all. Now, if there's a lot of rain, like we had here pretty recently (I think the first heavy rain this year), that water would travel to the watershed I'm sure, but the water from a light or short rain isn't even enough to soak 1/2" into the ground, much less travel very far. The water that comes off my roof might be just enough to help keep my plants alive.
Landscape plants do serve a purpose other than just looking nice. Trees, shrubs, plants and grass all help maintain cooler summer temperatures, reducing the need for air conditioning. They also help water to be absorbed into the ground vs running off and causing more erosion (I see a lot of erosion in CO), and causing flash flooding. Flowers also contribute food for wildlife and birds. The flowers help feed the insects that pollinate the flowers and the vegetable crops. It is possible to have a lawn and flowers, trees and shrubs in dry areas without using massive amounts of water, you just need to choose plants that have low water needs. My backyard is not irrigated, with the exception of occasional water to keep the trees alive (I think I've watered them twice now) but there are plants and flowers and even grass growing back there all on their own, even though we are several inches short of normal rainfall this year.

With out fail before there is enough water for you to collect it is having some impact on the environment. When you collect the water you take the water that is most likely to recharge aquifers and to refill watersheds.

I live over a very large aquifer, am taxed for it's benefit. The resulting research has resulted in encouragment use gray water when possible and appropriate. I suspect the Colorado law was enacted many years ago before they fully understood the problem. We still have much to learn.
If I capture rain that would land on my paved driveway, only to evaporate, and instead redirect it to my grape plants so I have something to eat, how can you condemn me?

I lived in Co. years ago. I didn't not know of the problem on collecting rain or using grey water.

To that I'd have a very hard time with people that have swimming pools/ How much water is wasted there....A LOT...
The pools have to be drained every year and refilled in summer.

I'm glad I'm in Texas even if my plants suffer from the dry heat sometimes. At least we can collect rain water. I've saved trees by hooking up a hose to the washer and running it out to the trees during our droughts.

Greanbean, interesting point about the veggie garden - especially since it takes alot of resources to ship veggies around making your homegrown ones more economical.... hmmmm, planting something water loving like a weeping willow in a front yard and keeping it happy is obviously a waste of water.... The line most be someplace inbetween, something like attempting to grow absolute water hog plants or trees is immoral there.

Agreed, tree shade does cool houses too saving energy, but planting an October Glory Maple in Vegas to shade my house or enough to keep my back yard shaded is obviously a waste of water.... I see a theme developing, once again a plant which can live naturally in that climate should be used....

Brendan is right, if I own an acre of land in an arid region I SHOULD NOT be allowed to hoard all the run off from it and direct it to my darn Bradford Pear just because I like flowers. Enough ppl doing that will have a negative effect on the water table.

I suppose places with more fragile water tables also have a limited number of Joshua Trees or Cacti they'll support per acre so do we need limits on even them in yards? Ugh, I've opened a can of worms lol.

Spogarden, I love the mention of the tax and how it has ben used effectively to fund research. Wish I thought of that.

Oh, and erosion at some point is natural. I suppose we're all guilty of converting our suburban environments. At some point though its just a bad idea when my neighbors build houses alongside unstable bluffs of the Mississippi.

Enough of me rambling. I'm off to contemplate more environmentally friendly uses of water in arid regions like that veggie garden.

Don't the detergents in grey water pollute the ground water?

In my city, if you you pay a $200 installation fee you can have an irrigation meter installed for you home. Since the water used to water lawns and fill kiddie pools etc goes directly into the ground and not the drain you can save money on the sewer treatment fees with this option.

Now that makes sense. Where is your city?

This all very interesting, I have enjoyed reading everybody's opinions and facts on this subject. I had no idea everybody didn't have plenty of water to do whatever with. I live 150 miles from Spokane, near Walla Walla. there is a smallish river 100 yards south of me and I have an irrigation well that is 12 feet deep that I can pull out of anytime.. Oh Crap, I forgot I left the hose running on a chestnut tree last night, I better go turn it off.
I feel sorry for you people in CO and other places where water is restricted.

Sounds like the legislators need to get a reality check. Here's a link to an article about collecting rainwater which may be helpful to anyone who wants to conserve water. Of course, we don't condone anyone breaking the law...

I grew up in Phx AZ and most of my family still lives there. There are many desert gardens etc. but there are still lots of lawns, swimming pools etc. I don't see most people there really all that worried about wasting water. At least they can have rain barrels though.
We just moved from Lake Havasu, AZ (hotter and drier than Phoenix) where half the residents there, only actually live there in the winter months. Meanwhile, many of them leave thier pools filled up with water and the electricity on to pump thier pools and cool thier homes. I read somewhere that the average pool evaporation in AZ desert areas is somewhere between 4-6ft per year, per pool.

I'm in Mobile, AL right on the Mobile Bay and Gulf Coast. We have plenty of water here.

On the one hand, water that is saved in a rain barrel and then used on the garden is keeping more water from local rivers and streams than just letting it run off while it is raining. Rain and gutter run-off does not penetrate grass lawn very well, and especially when it is raining, any extra will flow off the yard and into the storm drain, ditch, or local stream.

If you hold it until you need it for watering (i.e. when the ground is dry), it will be taken up into the plants, which will then breathe it out into the air.

On the other hand, I think that the Colorado gardener has more right to the rain that falls on their own roof than the Arizona residents who want pools or the California yard-owners with green lawn mandates in the desert.

Possession is nine tenth of the law.

Finders keepers.

The big lawn thing always gets me, flying into Las Vegas I'm always struck by the vast swaths of green from the homes and golf courses. I wonder, has anybody ever designed a low-water golf course? Its probably one of those "low water compared to" deals, the low water uses only a million gallons a year while the conventional uses 3 million...

Its just like electricity, you get a bulk rate when you use a tremendous amount which gives you absolutely no incentive to use less...

And you know, I think that's just obscene, the way people who have lots of money waste so much simply because they can afford to. They use up resources that are badly needed in other areas. This drives up the price for everyone. IMHO, they are the selfish ones.

I've worked hard all my life, and I live comfortably. But I don't believe in waste. I own my own home and two rental properties. I'm blessed with good long-term renters, but if I had an empty house, or if I chose to have a "summer home" and a "winter home", I'd winterize them rather than heat and cool them. Since we all have Bermuda grass lawns that NOTHING will kill, I wouldn't even water the lawn. I'd just make sure it was cut often enough to keep the place looking nice.