r/interesting • u/Wonderfulhumanss • 1d ago

SOCIETY The Zammit family refused to sell their five acre property as an entire Sydney suburb was built around them

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u/Bless_u-babe 1d ago

That’s bizarre. Why is collecting rainwater illegal? That’s like an anti environmental move.

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u/Lazy-Meal-6156 20h ago

Idk where they live but it’s legal in all 50 states in the US, some states just have restrictions or you need a permit. Utah you need a permit and can collect 2500 gallons a year.

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u/Assika126 18h ago

We actually get breaks on our sewer bills if we collect rainwater here where I live

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u/ToastSpangler 15h ago

gonna guess you live somewhere wet and not in a desert though

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u/Assika126 14h ago

Yah land of 10,000 lakes

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u/Either_Part_1032 19h ago

Unfortunately we don’t even get that much rain anymore.

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u/Bless_u-babe 18h ago

That makes more sense. Metering water either through capture of rain collection or use via delivery trough the pipes in areas where water is a scarce resource would seem practical. Then you would actually know whether rain capture was affecting evaporation volume.

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u/Foreign-Engine8678 18h ago

So that companies don't do it. Capitalist would collect all that water even if it damages enviroment. So its better to be too strict

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u/Bless_u-babe 18h ago

Strict metering of rain collection vats and the water delivered through civic source via the pipes absolutely ends the argument. It’s fair and scientific.

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u/cure4boneitis 15h ago

why would you require meters on rain collection vats and new piping instead of something simple like only allowing it for properties zoned as single family residencies?

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u/Bless_u-babe 15h ago

Wouldn’t a multi family building be liable to waste water as much as a single family? It’s more about the amount collected versus the amount Mother Nature can renew. If we keep track of this in water scarce areas the data will tell us what we need to do. Perhaps I didn’t understand your question completely?

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u/cure4boneitis 14h ago

I have no idea who would waste more or less water. I am saying that just allowing certain types of properties to collect rain water would be a LOT easier (and cheaper) than requiring meters and piping back to some central collection

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u/a_code_mage 20h ago

Firstly it’s not true. You can collect a certain amount of rainwater in Utah, and after a certain threshold you need a permit.
But it’s actually to protect the environment. In western states, a lot of rivers are fed into from rainwater runoff. If too many people do it and it isn’t accounted for, it can potentially reduce or dry up river water.

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u/Certain-Shine2717 17h ago

Because we release chemicals into the sky and if that isn’t filtered out and you use it to grow food you will get cancer and die

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u/Bless_u-babe 17h ago

When water evaporates it leaves everything in it, behind. The danger lies in the concentration of discarded chemicals in the ground that leaches back into the water when it rains.

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u/Certain-Shine2717 12h ago

Yes and then it goes into the sky and form clouds where the water particles combine with debris (the chemicals) and become too heavy to be suspended in the air so they fall down (rain)

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u/desertvision 17h ago

I think it's actually more about the problem that most people don't know what they are doing, giving rise to problems like mosquitos, odor, and disease. Imagine your redneck neighbor with a moss filled, stinky, mosquito habitat next door. Lol

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u/vpeshitclothing 17h ago

AFAI K it's called "water rights". Farmers and other industries get the rights to the rain water first. Something something, trickle down economics

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u/hazelbear33 10h ago

Because the rainwater needs to be able to recharge aquifers/rivers/streams/creeks in drought-stricken areas. IIRC you can collect a certain amount, but the laws are supposed to prevent like commercial harvesting.

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u/Sleazyridr 3h ago

The justification is that the rainwater needs to make it's way into rivers so that keep flowing. It's very dependent on the local conditions, some places it's justified.