Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states as Big Government claims ownership over our water
(NaturalNews) Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are
quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into
the land of the enslaved, but what I'm about to share with you takes
the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware
of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and
Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on
their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.
As
bizarre as it sounds, laws restricting property owners from "diverting"
water that falls on their own homes and land have been on the books for
quite some time in many Western states. Only recently, as droughts and
renewed interest in water conservation methods have become more common,
have individuals and business owners started butting heads with law
enforcement over the practice of collecting rainwater for personal use.
Check out this YouTube video
of a news report out of Salt Lake City, Utah, about the issue. It's
illegal in Utah to divert rainwater without a valid water right, and
Mark Miller of Mark Miller Toyota, found this out the hard way.
After
constructing a large rainwater collection system at his new dealership
to use for washing new cars, Miller found out that the project was
actually an "unlawful diversion of rainwater." Even though it makes
logical conservation sense to collect rainwater for this type of use
since rain is scarce in Utah, it's still considered a violation of
water rights which apparently belong exclusively to Utah's various
government bodies.
"Utah's the second driest state in the
nation. Our laws probably ought to catch up with that," explained
Miller in response to the state's ridiculous rainwater collection ban.
Salt
Lake City officials worked out a compromise with Miller and are now
permitting him to use "their" rainwater, but the fact that individuals
like Miller don't actually own the rainwater that falls on their
property is a true indicator of what little freedom we actually have
here in the U.S. (Access to the rainwater that falls on your own
property seems to be a basic right, wouldn't you agree?)
Outlawing rainwater collection in other states
Utah
isn't the only state with rainwater collection bans, either. Colorado
and Washington also have rainwater collection restrictions that limit
the free use of rainwater, but these restrictions vary among different
areas of the states and legislators have passed some laws to help ease
the restrictions.
In Colorado, two new laws were recently passed
that exempt certain small-scale rainwater collection systems, like the
kind people might install on their homes, from collection restrictions.
Prior to the passage of these laws, Douglas County, Colorado, conducted a study
on how rainwater collection affects aquifer and groundwater supplies.
The study revealed that letting people collect rainwater on their
properties actually reduces demand from water facilities and improves
conservation.
Personally, I don't think a study was even
necessary to come to this obvious conclusion. It doesn't take a rocket
scientist to figure out that using rainwater instead of tap water is a
smart and useful way to conserve this valuable resource, especially in
areas like the West where drought is a major concern.
Additionally,
the study revealed that only about three percent of Douglas County's
precipitation ended up in the streams and rivers that are supposedly
being robbed from by rainwater collectors. The other 97 percent either
evaporated or seeped into the ground to be used by plants.
This
hints at why bureaucrats can't really use the argument that collecting
rainwater prevents that water from getting to where it was intended to
go. So little of it actually makes it to the final destination that
virtually every household could collect many rain barrels worth of
rainwater and it would have practically no effect on the amount that
ends up in streams and rivers.
It's all about control, really
As
long as people remain unaware and uninformed about important issues,
the government will continue to chip away at the freedoms we enjoy. The
only reason these water restrictions are finally starting to change for
the better is because people started to notice and they worked to do
something to reverse the law.
Even though these laws restricting
water collection have been on the books for more than 100 years in some
cases, they're slowly being reversed thanks to efforts by citizens who
have decided that enough is enough.
Because if we can't even
freely collect the rain that falls all around us, then what, exactly,
can we freely do? The rainwater issue highlights a serious overall
problem in America today: diminishing freedom and increased government
control.
Today, we've basically been reprogrammed to think that
we need permission from the government to exercise our inalienable
rights, when in fact the government is supposed to derive its power from
us. The American Republic was designed so that government would serve
the People to protect and uphold freedom and liberty. But increasingly,
our own government is restricting people from their rights to engage in
commonsense, fundamental actions such as collecting rainwater or buying
raw milk from the farmer next door.
Today, we are living under a
government that has slowly siphoned off our freedoms, only to
occasionally grant us back a few limited ones under the pretense that
they're doing us a benevolent favor.
Fight back against enslavement
As
long as people believe their rights stem from the government (and not
the other way around), they will always be enslaved. And whatever
rights and freedoms we think we still have will be quickly eroded by a
system of bureaucratic power that seeks only to expand its control.
Because the same argument that's now being used to restrict rainwater collection could, of course, be used to declare that you have no right to the air you breathe, either.
After all, governments could declare that air to be somebody else's
air, and then they could charge you an "air tax" or an "air royalty"
and demand you pay money for every breath that keeps you alive.
Think
it couldn't happen? Just give it time. The government already claims it
owns your land and house, effectively. If you really think you own your
home, just stop paying property taxes and see how long you still "own"
it. Your county or city will seize it and then sell it to pay off your
"tax debt." That proves who really owns it in the first place... and
it's not you!
How about the question of who owns your body?
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark office, U.S. corporations
and universities already own 20% of your genetic code. Your own body,
they claim, is partially the property of someone else.
So if they own your land, your water and your body, how long before they claim to own your air, your mind and even your soul?
Unless
we stand up against this tyranny, it will creep upon us, day after day,
until we find ourselves totally enslaved by a world of
corporate-government collusion where everything of value is owned by
powerful corporations -- all enforced at gunpoint by local law
enforcement.
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