State policy on rain barrels and roof water harvesting in Washington state

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Orpheus

To clear up misconceptions about the legality of rain barrels, rain water collection and harvesting rainwater in Washington state check these links to the Washington state department of ecology:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2011/016.html
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/hq/rwh.html
Please, PLEASE check the Wa. state D.O.E. website links above for the CORRECT information – I have seen too many articles, and interpretations that, In my humble opinion, grossly misrepresent the D.O.E.’s policy. . . but don’t take my word for it. If you read all of the information on the Washington state department of ecology’s website regarding rain water harvesting, it should become evident that in Washington state, it is now NOT against state law to catch rainwater runoff from the roof of your house in rain barrels, and a water right is not needed to do so. This topic is a precariously steep and slippery political slope – so I will try to avoid a lengthy rant about an individual’s right to unencumbered access to enough clean water and air to stay alive . . . .

This entry was posted in slow sand water filter study and construction. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to State policy on rain barrels and roof water harvesting in Washington state

  1. John T. Boyce says:
    August 23, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    In the information on a first flow diverter, a comment was made that the water came from a composition roof with moss on about 30% of the surface. Any good real estate home inspector will tell you that moss does not grow on a good composition roof; moss requires a degrading surface that allows it to penetrate into the surface and hang on. If good composition roofs are problematic, moss covered ones should be of great concern for slow filter users.

  2. admin says:
    October 20, 2011 at 10:57 am

    The old roof here had moss on it in the shaded area and no moss in the sunlit area. The sunlit part of the roof was the first to go. It curled up and cracked from the heat. I’ve done some research on this and the results now appear in the most recent post of October 20, 2011. Check the October post and the links there to studies done at Oregon state, and southern Illinois University .

Comments are closed.