Man jailed for 30 days after building THREE reservoirs on his own land with enough water to fill 20 Olympic-sized pools

Gary Harrington, 64, was found guilty for building three man-made ponds containing nearly 13million gallons of water

The Eagle Point, Oregon, man was convicted of nine misdemeanors and fined $1,500



Harrington built the reservoirs on his 170-acre land and stocked them with fish



A 1925 Oregon law says all water is publicly owned



The state initially approved permits for the ponds, but later reversed them



An Oregon man has been jailed for 30 days for collecting rainwater and snow runoff in three reservoirs that he had built on his own property.

Gary Harrington, of Eagle Point, was found guilty two weeks ago for violating a 1925 law which says all water is publicly owned.



Harrington, 64, was convicted of nine misdemeanors and received a $1,500 fine in addition to the jail term.

Watershed moment: Gary Harrington, 64, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for building three rain collection ponds on his land in violation of a state law

Harrington surrendered himself to authorities to begin his prison term and said that he was sacrificing himself to stand up for liberty, according to AOL Real Estate .



‘When it comes to the point where a rural landowner can't catch rainwater that falls on his land to protect his property, it's gone too far,’ he told the Associated Press following his conviction.

Decades earlier, Harrington constructed two dams measuring at 10 and 20 feet, and has since collected nearly 13million gallons of water in his man-made ponds, which is enough to fill 20 Olympic-sized pools. He also built boat docks and stocked the reservoirs with trout and Bluegill for recreational fishing.

Filled up: Over the years, the reservoirs have collected nearly 13million gallons of water

Water world: Harrington erected two dams on his property measuring at 10 and 20 feet

Gone fishing: Harrington built boat docks and stocked his ponds with trout and Bluegil

Oregon's Water Resources Department said that while it is legal to set up rainwater collection barrels on roofs or other surfaces, Harrington's reservoirs went far beyond that and required permits.



‘Mr Harrington has operated these three reservoirs in flagrant violation of Oregon law for more than a decade,’ the department's deputy director, Tom Paul, told the Medford Mail Tribune.



The state initially approved permits for Harrington's water collection pools on his 170-acre property in 2003, but ultimately reversed its decision.



‘They issued me my permits. I had my permits in hand and they retracted them just arbitrarily, basically,’ Harrington told CNSNews.com. ‘They took them back and said, 'No, you can't have them.' So I've been fighting it ever since.’

'Don't tread on me': Harrington said the government has bullied him and trampled on his individual rights as a property owner using the 1925 state law as an excuse



Tug-'o-war: The state has ordered the Eagle Point man to drain his ponds, but he vows to continue the fight

Water battle: Harrington has claimed that he has been collecting rainwater for his personal use and for fire suppression

Harrington has been ordered to drain his three reservoirs, but the Eagle Point resident remains defiant and ready to continue the fight. He said that he is only collecting rainwater for personal use and fire suppression, and that the state is infringing upon his rights.



‘The government is bullying,' he told CNSNews.com. ‘They've just gotten to be big bullies and if you just lay over and die and give up, that just makes them bigger bullies.



‘So, we as Americans, we need to stand on our constitutional rights, on our rights as citizens and hang tough. This is a good country, we’ll prevail.’