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Water:
Rainwater Harvesting
Our Position: support
Bill Number: SB 128
Sponsor: Sen Scott Jenkins (R-Plain City)
This bill amends Utah's water laws to allow the harvest of rainwater with containers up to 2,500 gallons.
Status
SB 128 passed the third and final reading in the senate on a 24-2-3 vote 2/24, and moves on now to the house. It was amended to add language referencing the building code. It has not yet been assigned to a standing committee in the house.
Action Needed
In an arid state like Utah, there are lots of lobbyists and special interests that can prevent change when they feel threatened. This legislation starts out fairly small. Two thousand five hundred gallons is a low threshold. It's probably plenty for most homeowners but not useful for commercial operations. If rainwater harvesting doesn't create too many problems at this level, perhaps we'll see the program expanded.
We hope it will pass, but it needs help from you. Please call your representative now to voice your support.
Contact
To find out who your state representative or senator is, check out the helpful district maps on the state website. The listings include e-mail and phone contacts.
Background
To review the legislation in detail, check out the amended bill language. For more information about the ABCs of rainwater harvesting, the University of Arizona has a very helpful website.
Utah's water law is somewhat complex and very entrenched. All surface water and ground water in the state is already appropriated. Theoretically when a homeowner or a business owner harvests rainwater, he or she is subtracting water from a river or an aquifer that is already granted to existing users.
In practice, rainwater is often a problem rather than a resource. Once the rainwater hits the gutter, cities have to spend substantial sums to channel, control and treat stormwater. When the homeowner or business owner can channel a portion of this into a rain barrel, it diminishes the demand on challenged municipal water supplies while also diverting part of the stormwater headache.
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