# Why is it illegal to catch rainwater in some states in the USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2015, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-illegal-to-catch-rainwater-in-some-states-in-the-usa/732389 "2015-09-24T10:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-illegal-to-catch-rainwater-in-some-states-in-the-usa/732389/141 "2015-09-29T21:49:42Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The State of Colorado does if it is used to supplement the water you would take out of your well (or water rights). And if you read page 25, section 4.5 paragraph 3 you’ll see why that requirement makes absolutely no sense in light of the scientific evidence. To summarise, the factor of 28:1 is important. A domestic rainfall harvesting system could capture 2800 gallons, use 2700 of it, return 100 gallons only to the stream and _ **not effect the amount of water available to downstream users.** _ apologies for the occasional references rather than the text but I can’t find a way to cut and paste pdf text on my chromebook and typing them longhand is tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-illegal-to-catch-rainwater-in-some-states-in-the-usa/732389/142 "2015-09-30T06:49:28Z")
Hello? anybody? Was it something I said? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-illegal-to-catch-rainwater-in-some-states-in-the-usa/732389.md?page=7)