In Eagle Point, Oregon, Gary Harrington was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail and pay a fine over $1,500 for having three reservoirs for collecting rainwater. He claimed that he tried getting permits for storing rainwater or snow melts, but they have been denied. He said to CBS News that there was no law that forbade him from storing water, but Tom Paul, the administrator of Oregon Water Resources Department, says he was keeping the water from running into the Big Butte River. Harrington points out there are dams already doing so, and that they would be unable to reach the river from his property since his yard is 170 acres.

Sources:

Adams, M. (2010, July 26). Collecting Rainwater now Illegal in many States as Big Government

Claims Ownership over our Water. Natural News. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from

http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html#ixzz2uSakD26v

Alleyne, K. (2012, July 26). Oregon Man Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail — for Collecting

Rainwater on His Property. CBS News. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/oregon-man-sentenced-30-days-jail-collecting-rainwater-his-property

Orpheus. (2013, February 26). Rainwater Harvesting Regulations State by State.

Enlight-Inc.com. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from http://www.enlight-inc.com/blog/?p=1036

Student Researcher: Timothy Schichtel

Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D., Indian River State College

ETHICS ALERT

Trying to claim rainwater, as well as other natural resources everyone can gain access to (e.g. air), is tantamount to claiming ownership over nature. Human beings do not own nature, they are part of it.

Some enforcers of the law believe they are doing the right thing and some law-makers have not the ability to see how flawed and unjust the law they have made is. Curiously, there is a law on the books that says it is illegal to shower naked in Florida, but few if any follow that law and not something police officers would enforce. Even if there might have once been a reason for such an archaic and “dumb” law, there is no reason for it now. Like a law against showering naked, Oregon’s law is also a law without a point. Its point might have been to prevent droughts or back flooding, however, those arguments have been refuted.

Finally, the average citizen in Oregon does not collect rainwater because people are more focused on not getting wet and staying inside than preparing to save money on drinking from the tap, buying water bottles, and other possible uses. So it is irrational to worry that permitting people to collect rainwater will somehow create a substantial drain on available water.

Review Article with Credder