Americans are gradually learning that water is not an inexhaustible resource. Competition for water has spawned bitter arguments among individuals, municipalities, and even states. ("Tri-State Water Fight Spurs Questions on Growth", by Kathy Lohr, National Public Radio. August 7, 2009)
Furthermore, efforts to recycle water have in some cases been hindered by outdated plumbing and sanitation codes. Individuals attempting to circumvent these codes have found themselves confronting legal authorities.
As water-related conflicts find their way into courts, long-established ideologies surrounding water rights are being challenged, and old statutes are being altered to meet modern needs.
Catching Rainwater May Violate Water Rights
According to Brad Lancaster, author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2006), 30 to 50% of a typical American household’s potable water is expended on landscaping, washing cars, and other outdoor uses. Such practices are inappropriate and cannot be sustained, in Lancaster’s estimation; therefore, he has become an outspoken advocate for catching rainwater and utilizing it in the landscape.
Unfortunately, in several states any diversion or interruption of rainfall prior to its natural return to the watershed violates water rights, and the owners of such rights are stubbornly defending them.
Colorado, Nevada, Washington, and Utah are among those states where placing a barrel beneath a downspout to catch rainwater may be illegal. Even though Colorado recently modified its law to allow rainwater harvesting, only a limited number of people qualify for permits.
While proponents of rainwater harvesting claim that there is no net reduction in moisture in the watershed – ultimately, the water eventually percolates into the soil after it has been used to water a garden or lawn – champions of water rights argue that diverted water is subject to evaporation or contamination before it finds its way to streams, rivers, and aquifers.
And some water right holders simply feel they should have first right to the resource, whether they actually use it or not.
The debate is even more complicated in urban areas than it is in rural America: overflowing storm drains and uncontrolled runoff often overwhelm water treatment facilities, and contamination of watercourses is not uncommon. Rainwater harvesting by individual homeowners and businesses would do much to alleviate this problem.
Many Westerners are concerned that wholesale legalization of rainwater harvesting would be the end of water law as they know it. Others say good riddance to obsolete water statutes; water use should be dictated by needs and environmental impacts.
Gray Water Salvagers Run Afoul of the Law
Gray water is the effluent that is produced by washing machines, sinks, and other non-septic sources. This water almost universally combines with water from toilets before ending up in sewers or septic tanks.
Gray water can be safely used for a multitude of landscaping needs if it doesn’t contain harsh detergents or other noxious chemicals. Indeed, in areas where drought is common, gray water can be the main source of water for plants that would otherwise wither and die.
Unfortunately, most Americans are so used to having abundant clean water that they rarely give gray water a thought before flushing it down the pipes. And those individuals who are becoming more water-conscious often discover that it isn’t easy to recover sufficient amounts of gray water to make a difference.
While almost anyone can shower over a bucket and then use the bucket to water a flower bed, people who want to do something on a grander scale may encounter obstacles and frustration in the guise of local plumbing ordinances.
For example, Laura Allen, cofounder of Gray Water Guerillas in Oakland, California, reports that plumbing codes in her state “…are very restrictive and basically make sustainability illegal.”
California's code mandates that a gray water system must be buried nine inches underground. Such systems can cost several thousand dollars – out of reach for most homeowners. According to Allen, there are fewer than 10 such residential permits in Los Angeles.
However, about one million Californians – in violation of state codes – use a simpler gray water collection system, one that utilizes a valve to divert a home’s gray water to the surrounding landscape. Such systems, says Allen, are safe, easy to install, and economical.
Arizona, a state where water awareness is a fact of life, has a more progressive gray water policy that allows greater latitude in the diversion and use of this increasingly valuable resource.
As human populations grow and potable water becomes more precious, policymakers will be faced with difficult decisions: long-sacrosanct water rights and other outdated statutes may require major overhaul to ensure public health and environmental integrity.
After all, where there is no water there is no life.
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