Collecting rainwater that runs off my house...illegal?!

We are preparing to start our garden next year. The plan was to start the Spring just passed, but with a 6 month old with food allergies and a 2, 4, and 6 year old, I just didn't find the time. We are going to spend the next 8 months planning so that we are ready next year.

I read an article in a local publication that referred to collecting rainwater in rain barrels. You simply place a barrell off your downspout and use the runoff to supplement water to your garden. I told my husband that I wanted to do that as it seemed like a sensible, "green" and economical thing to do.

Lo and behold, I opened a local kids magazine to find a small article that says it is illegal in Colorado! Say what? Here's the description:
http://water.state.co.us/pubs/policies/waterharvesting.pdf

Rainwater In Colorado, the State Engineer has the statutory obligation to protect all vested water rights. The process of allocating water to various water users is traditionally referred to as water rights administration, and is the responsibility of the Division of Water Resources.... Practically speaking, it means that in most river drainages, a person cannot divert rainwater and put it to a beneficial use without a plan for augmentation that replaces the depletions associated with that diversion.

Apparently, collecting the rainwater from your own house interferes with water rights...thus, it's illegal!

You can, however, collect the water that you run each time when you are heating it up for various purposes. For instance, if you run the shower and let it heat up before getting in, you can collect that water in a bucket and water your lawn or the garden with it. Aren't you happy you're allowed to do that?

What about graywater? Graywater is water left over from a bath, shower, sink, washing machine, etc. Here is the summary for that:

Application of graywater from systems discharging 2,000 gallons or more per day requires a permit from the CDPHE; smaller systems require permits from your local health department.

I actually understand this restriction; not everyone uses biodegradable and "earth friendly" soaps and other personal items so it really needs to be treated at the Waste Reclamation Department.

However, there is pending legislation that would allow limited use of rain barrels in colorado.

SB 119 (Romer/Looper)

allows Colorado to start examining how best to utilize "rain harvesting" as part of an overall water conservation strategy. The bill refers the issue of rainwater collection and use to the interim Colorado Water Resources Committee for analysis and drafting of more comprehensive legislation in 2009. Rainwater harvesting involves capturing rainwater from rooftops and streets using cisterns and catchments for landscape watering, fire protection and small-scale irrigation. Many other Western states allow the practice, but Colorado does not.Apparently, Gov Ritter has signed it. It's now in the "examination" phase, let's hope it doesn't take five more years before legislation figures out that allowing homeowners to use water off their own house on their grass and gardens is a good watersaving technique!

Here's the additional irony:

• You have to have enough vegetation in your yard so that there's not too much runoff
• You pay for the water you use, but once it's come out of the faucet, it's not your's anymore.
• "With few exceptions, water law says you can only use water once and then you have to let it go. So Kemper said some people say it’s OK to leave a bucket in the shower as you wait to regulate the water temperature because that’s like filling it up at the tap. Others think that collecting water while you’re in the shower is wrong because the water has already been used once, to wash, and should go down the drain." LINK
• When the water is in the sky, it's free to use. Once it hits the earth, it's not your's anymore
• "Some places - Arizona, Texas, Albuquerque, NM, and Portland, OR, come to mind - give tax credits, rebates, grants or other incentives for the installation of water harvesting systems. When I lived in Albuquerque, the city gave rebates and disseminated information on rain-barrel systems for outdoor watering. " LINK

Here are a couple good articles:

http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcconserv/8colosena2.html

Here is a quote from THIS article:

“Rainwater harvesting puts water right back into the system when it is used that way,” says Paul Paryski, who co-wrote the ordinance currently being considered by the city. “It puts it back into the treatment plant. There’s a net increase in water in the system” because rainwater that would otherwise be lost to evaporation is captured and contained.