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[speeddemon94]

Southern Oregon man Jailed for collecting rainwater with out a permit. That really frys my ***. So, you have your property, which you paid for, but you must still pay rent to the state, and you cant do anything you would like to because you don't really own it. I have always thought that was so stupid. Lord forbid you have any self reliance. This comes back to the personal responsibility discussion and why no one has it. The state will attend to all of your needs.

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[CascadeSam]

Jailed? Not just slapped on the wrist or fined? Incredible. Collecting the rainwater that falls on your land is yours. What's next; using drones to bust water-thieves stealing the state's rainwater that falls onto their roof?

 

[jfw]

Wow, that is out if control. This boggles the mind.

 

[dmancornell]

Statists gonna state: MD Lawmakers To Start Taxing RAIN!

 

[nwo]

13 million gallons? Holy crap.

 

[John H]

You can thank the indian's for that.

They sued many times for control of the water.

 

[Jamie6.5]

I feel for the guy to some extent, and if he was saving the water that falls on his roof, in a barrel it would be one thing.
But he's not.
And, he bought property in a designated municipal watershed.

And, this isn't the first time. He'd been warned about it before.

Maybe he'll learn this time, or buy a different piece of property that's NOT in a watershed.

There are some things ya just gotta be smart about, and this is one instance where the guy made a big mistake, or was just a little too arrogant blowing off TPTB.

 

[speeddemon94]

Thing about a watershed, is that all TPTB has to do is designate the hill you live on as one.

The city of Portland made a friend of mine remove rainwater collection barrels from his house, or be fined and have them removed. The house is elevated and not able to be seen from the road.

I could see if the guy was interfering with others down the hill from him, but I don't think that's the case.

The point is, they incarcerated a person for collecting rainwater. TPTB do not like self reliance and obviously will go further and further to discourage it. Water may be a public resource, but collecting rain should not be in any sort of purview of the government.

Jail is definitely not warranted for this garbage. Put a criminal in jail, not this guy.

 

[Redcap]

They would have fits if they saw my rainwater collection setup.

 

[Asp]

From the article,

The bigger story here is that rainwater collection is indeed kosher in Oregon, provided that you're capturing it from an artificial, impervious surface such as a rooftop with the assistance of rainwater barrels. But an extensive reservoir set-up complete with 10- and 20-foot-tall dams is verboten without the proper, state-issued water-right permits &#8212; after all, Oregon law dictates that water is a publicly owned resource &#8212; and Harrington did not possess said permits.

Who writes these things!?
Answer: Gary Franchi


In any case, I could see how collecting that much water could be problematic to the lay of the land. Even if he has 170 acres.

Also,

[an] Olympic-sized swimming pool [is...] 660,000 gallons[.]

Water Trivia Facts | Drinking Water | US EPA

 

[Jamie6.5]

He should have read the material provided to him by the title company when he bought the place.
The Big Butte Creek watershed has been in place since the middle of the 20th century.
His current battle over water issues has been on-going for 10 years or so.

 

[speeddemon94]

Yeah, he is out on Crowfoot Road...That would be real borderline Big Butte, from what I can tell looking at maps that I have access to.

 

[Stomper]

They would have fits if they saw my rainwater collection setup.

You would have fits if you knew how many times I peed in your collection setup!