Saving rain: How much is too much?
Collecting large amount runs afoul of 'archaic' law
By JENNIFER LANGSTON
P-I REPORTER
On a nonprofit Woodinville farm devoted to sustainable practices, rain hits a green shed roof covered in a carpet of herbs and moss.
Drops run down a chain into four weathered barrels, draining to a small pond ringed by cherry trees, huckleberry bushes and native plants.
It's a system the 21 Acres farm wants to create on a much grander scale when it breaks ground next year on an agricultural center with farm stalls, classrooms and test kitchens. The new addition could store 150,000 gallons of rain to irrigate dozens of adjacent garden plots, currently sucking up expensive city water.
There's just one problem.
It almost certainly would violate state water law. And if one wanted to be persnickety, so might the rain barrels cities encourage conservation-minded homeowners to buy.
"We're all promoting it, it's the right thing to do, it makes sense, but it's illegal," said Vince Carlson, a meadmaker and architect for 21 Acres. "Nobody says anything, and we're all kind of hush-hush about it."
more:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/371529_rain21.html