Wow, weird: Who owns Colorado’s rainwater?
according to the state of Colorado, the rain that falls on Holstrom’s property is not hers to keep.
Wow, weird: Who owns Colorado’s rainwater?
according to the state of Colorado, the rain that falls on Holstrom’s property is not hers to keep.
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That is just plain stupid. Seems like if they own the water then they should be responsible for any damage it causes to property.
There are a lot of laws like this, especially in western states. In some places (Marin county, maybe?…I’d need to look it up), you can keep water to use if you catch it before it hits the ground. Once it’s on the ground in the watershed, it belongs to the local water agency. (And I guess mineral/mining rights can be even more strange and convoluted.)
I live in Colorado and the right to use water is considered a real property right. Our state constitution even speaks on water “Section 5. Water of streams public property. The water of every natural stream, not heretofore appropriated, within the state of Colorado, is hereby declared to be the property of the public, and the same is dedicated to the use of the people of the state, subject to appropriation as hereinafter provided.” Water law here is very complex and it’s own focus for a lot of lawyers.