Collecting Rainwater No Longer Illegal in Colorado

Radley Balko | June 29, 2009

I wrote a short article for our October issue about how it was illegal—and had been for more than a century—for Coloradans to collect precipitation that falls on their property. The law also made it illegal for retailers to sell rain barrels and similar items—even something like a bucket, if the retailer suspected his customer would use it for illegal purposes.

No more. Two new laws taking effect this year now make it legal for Coloradans to collect rain.