Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Rainwater harvesting pilot program signed into Colorado law

Governer Ritter signed a law which "establishes a pilot program for the collection of precipitation from rooftops for non-potable uses." CBS has a nice writeup.

This is a great step, but only the first one. You cannot start harvesting rainwater now; you have to participate in the pilot program, which will last for ten years. There will be only ten projects selected, and the program is only open to "RESIDENTIAL OR MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL CONDUCT INDIVIDUAL PILOT PROJECTS TO COLLECT PRECIPITATION FROM ROOFTOPS AND IMPERMEABLE SURFACES FOR NONPOTABLE USES". Here's a PDF of the bill, HB 1129. Us normal folks should check out the FAQ and links from the Colorado Division of Water Resources: "Am I allowed to construct a graywater or rainwater harvesting system in Colorado?"

But hey, it's a start!

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