Governments harvest rainwater for reuse
As water conservation has become a greater concern across the country, state and local governments have begun harvesting rainwater for use in their facilities and for irrigation. Many are encouraging residents to do the same.
While collecting or harvesting rainwater has been a habitual practice for years in Colorado, it has been officially illegal because the state or other entity owns the water rights. That changed last year when the state passed two laws that allow a lot of people to collect rainwater legally. One of the new laws allows as many as a quarter-million residents with private wells to begin rainwater harvesting. The other law creates a pilot program for larger scale rain-catching.
The Washington-based International Code Council's recently released International Green Construction Code (IGCC) Public Version 1.0 supports the use of rainwater collection and distribution systems. The code aims to regulate construction of new and existing commercial buildings.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, is encouraging residents to recycle rainwater to prevent runoff from polluting the ocean.
Read the entire story from Government Product News, our sister publication.
