So, last week’s emergencies have got me thinking again about capturing rain water from our rain gutters and saving it up to water the garden. We don’t get a lot of water here in Utah, but when we do, it seems to be a real gully-washer. It seems a waste not to try and save up some for…uh…a rainy day.
But it turns out that until recently that was illegal here. In 2010 the state legislature finally gave in and passed a law allowing private citizens–if they register with the state division of water rights–to capture and store rain water up to 2500 gallons in below-ground storage, or 200 gallons above ground. Fascinating, if a little irritating. I hear from colleagues at work that different areas of the state have “culinary water” system and irrigation water systems, and the latter is cheaper. Where we live it’s all one and the same. I’m using chlorinated water to water my tomatoes and grass. And it gets a little pricey. It’s also no help whatsoever if, for whatever reason, the city water system is inaccessible.
It’s no wonder that so few people want to “go green”. We’ve got ourselves into such an intertwined, convoluted system that it’s difficult to really, truly be sure you’re really helping the planet–and doing it legally.