On your own property?


Man Sentenced to 30 Days for Catching Rain Water on Own Property Enters Jail (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/man-sentenced-30-days-catching-rain-water-own-property-enters-jail)

Gary Harrington, the Oregon man convicted of collecting rainwater and snow runoff on his rural property surrendered Wednesday morning to begin serving his 30-day, jail sentence in Medford, Ore.

“I’m sacrificing my liberty so we can stand up as a country and stand for our liberty,” Harrington told a small crowd of people gathered outside of the Jackson County (Ore.) Jail.

Several people held signs that showed support for Harrington as he was taken inside the jail.

Harrington was found guilty two weeks ago of breaking a 1925 law for having, what state water managers called “three illegal reservoirs” on his property. He was convicted of nine misdemeanors, sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined over $1500 for collecting rainwater and snow runoff on his property.
Gary harrington news conference

Crowd of supporters outside Jackson County Jail, Wednesday August 8, 2012. (Photo: Gary Harrington)

The Oregon Water Resources Department, claims that Harrington has been violating the state’s water use law by diverting water from streams running into the Big Butte River.

But Harrington says he is not diverting the state's water -- merely collecting rainwater and snow melt that falls or flows on his own property.

Harrington has vowed to continue to fight the penalty, stating that the government has become “big bullies” and that “from here on in, I’m going to fight it.”

“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, Harrington said in an interview two weeks ago with CNSNews.com.

"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,” he said.

His release is expected in early September.

That's odd, my city is encouraging rain water collection.

Rainwater Harvesting Rebate (http://water.amarillo.gov/?page_id=146)

What's next in Oregon, you won't be able to breathe the air while on your own property?

Local byelaws are just great aren't they.
There's a town in the UK where it is "legal" to Kill a man on church grounds on a Sunday, as long as you use a long bow and he's of Welsh decent.

I find those laws interesting all right, we probably still have a few of those in Texas - but this is actually a state law. Just remind me to steer clear of Welsh with long bows on Sundays.

I've heard it's illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing in Texas but I've never seen it enforced.

Basically he is trying to collect rainwater and snow melt from flowing into tributaries to streams that provide a city's water supply, and the city (or state) was smart enough to prevent that back in 1925. Laws preventing blocking natural water flow are as old as the hills in USA.
Aside from groundwater and springs, what other water is there to keep tributaries and stream supplied, except rain and snow melt and he wants to keep most of it for himself and the town and others downstream can do without. That's the conclusion I come to after reading the full articles about this incident.
Maybe he will beat them on a technicality or definition of terminology but he has violated the intent of the law certainly. This ain't a rain barrel situation. They refer to olympic swimming pool size reservoirs he has built.

Apparently it's not so much the 1925 local law but the state law that says the state owns all of the water.

The comments on that site are priceless.

Going off-topic again, eh?

Going off-topic again, eh?

Sure. Want to talk about fantasy football? Or how this 1925 law is Obama style communism?

Sure. Wanna talk about fantasy football? Or how this 1925 law is Obama style communism?

You're the one calling people trolls, not me.

Hello Steve:

Psssst... If you want to buy a rain barrel, I know where you can get one, CHEAP.. Keep it on QT.

excon

I'm guilty . I've been collecting run off from my roof for years to water my gardens.
So is the criminal GW Bush .
snopes.com: A Tale of Two Houses (http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp)

So... will they arrest you for contaminating THEIR water if you pee in your back yard?

I think that would be considered runoff.

What about if you left a bucket out and it caught some water? I mean unless you ship the full rainbarrel off to the Middle east... will not the same water end up the same place no matter if you water your garden with it or wash your car?

Next they will be expecting you to roll out a tarp because heaven forbid any water that falls on your property might actually get something on your property wet.

WHat next... using Oxegen from the air that drifts past you as well?

This is supposed to be the land of the free? It's a strange paradox that Americans oppose government intervention so much, yet the government is obsessed with enforcing petty, useless laws.

Particularly since much of Oregon is known for getting so much rain annually.

Water is life you know, even when there is an abundance around people try to corral the supply, but petty officialdom exists everywhere and it is this sort of thing that should be opposed

I wonder how much time you would get in Oregon for eating Berries the government apparently owns that were growing on your own property?

Water rights are a bit more complex than that .But collecting run off and storing it in man made reservoirs would appear to be a next gain for the community in that often ,it runs off into street drains ,mixing with chemicals and other things that contaminate it .
His use of the water would seem to me to be a way to easy the demand on the public water system... and what he doesn't use will still seep back into the aquifer (assuming his man made reservoirs are not concrete lined ) .

I wonder if I should run out and eliminate that blackberry bush in my back yard, oh I forgot I did that last week, I'll have to get a bigger water storage tank though so I can piss off my local council

Was it one of those blackberry bushes that produce big juicy blackberries ? Send it to me if you don't need it . The berries sell for about $4 a small container here. .

Mmmmmm I love fresh picked wild blackberries... they are nothing like the flavorless ones sold in stores.

Soooo I've been thinking... if the state owns the rain... does it own the snow too, and if it does, can homeowners sue the state for not removing the snow from their driveways and sidewalks?