My grandmother had a large metal tub she used to collect rainwater with. We washed with it, used the water in the garden and the bathroom, just about everything short of drinking and cooking. While I gagged at our water bill last year and lamented how much of that water was not being used as drinking water, I was reminded of that tub. From then on, I was on the lookout for large barrels.

It took me a year but a few weeks ago, my husband and I saw someone loading 55 gallon plastic barrels on his truck. He said he would give it to us. Yes! So we loaded a couple of them onto our truck and brought them home.

While looking for some plans how others rigged their water harvesting system up, I stumbled across a very interesting conversation. Apparently, it could be illegal for us to collect rain water.

WHAT?

Apparently in some states, the state owns the rain water. Try suing them the next time that rain water floods your home but that’s a whole other story.

I decided to do some research on it. True enough. Most states don’t seem to have any legislation or problem about it, but some do. The good news is, other states, encourage it and even give you a tax credit.

One site that is particularly helpful is HarvestH2O.com. They even have a page that lists regulations for each state and even some countries.

I think these laws are crazy though but hey, I don’t want my friends to get in trouble either so check before you collect.