Tuscon's Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance

The City of Tucson passed a rainwater ordinance (passed 10/2008) requiring rainwater harvesting for new commercial development! It doesn't go into effect until June 2010, but it's a big step for a good sized city.

The ordinance requires new commercial development to get 50% of their landscaping water from rainwater collection. The City website has a rainwater harvesting site with info, resources and a water budget spreadsheet.

The worksheet isn't quite as user friendly as it could be, but the developer has her name and contact information on the spreadsheet, so she's open to suggestions and comments. Kudos to the City of Tucson and Ann Audrey from the Tucson Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development.

http://www.tucsonaz.gov/ocsd/sustainability/water/rainwaterharvesting.php

Colorado's new legislation on rainwater collection

the State of Colorado is finally beginning to give in a little bit regarding the long-standing law banning rainwater collection for private use... The state Senate has approved a bill (09-080) which allows a very specific group of residents to collect rainwater from their own roof with the following conditions...

the collection area must be less than 3,000sf, AND

there is no municipal water supply available, AND

they have, or apply for and receive a well permit.

as long as the intended use doesn't conflict with what is allowed on the well permit.

According to the brief published by the State,

http://water.state.co.us/pubs/pdf/RainWaterBills.pdf

even if you have a valid well permit that restricts your water use to domestic uses, this does not include watering a garden or greenhouse.

This Bill is a good start, but we'll see how much of an effect it has. It's pretty specific, and even their FAQ page makes it sound like they're only budging a little bit.