Colorado Lawmakers Consider Ending Rain Barrel Ban

(Courtesy Flickr user Center For Neighborhood Technology/Creative Commons)

The Durango Herald reports that the Water Resources Review Committee Tuesday approved drafting a bill that would allow residents to collect precipitation in barrels. The legislative committee won't official vote on whether to introduce the measure until October.

Colorado's rain-barrel ban is little known and widely flouted. But the barrels violate Colorado water law, which says that people can use but not keep water that runs on or through their property.

The proposed bill would require users to register their 55-gallon barrels with the state and require water providers to replace water taken from rooftops.