The Politics of Rainwater Harvesting

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The Politics of Rainwater Harvesting

by Scott James in Rainfall/Precipitation, Saving Water

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There is a more than two decade old law in the Philippines requiring the construction of rainwater catchments around the country, but it is seldom enforced. In Cebu City, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country currently dealing with extended dry weather caused by the El Niño effect, that is changing. Lawyers and University students filed petitions with the Supreme Court to enforce the 1989 Rainwater Collector and Springs Development Law. Nestor Archival, Cebu City Councilor, responded with an appeal to residents to use whatever container they have and begin constructing rainwater catchments or digging ponds in their yards.

Photo Credit: Grassroutes

Rainwater harvesting is being legally required more and more.

Archival points to a city ordinance that requires any commercial building worth over half a million pesos to construct a rainwater catchment system, and he says that he is appealing to schools, malls, and any other large or commercial establishment to do its part.

Cebu City’s legal requirement echoes similar legal requirements in Bermuda, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Santa Fe, New Mexico, where all new construction is required to include rainwater harvesting adequate for the new residents. A similar law is being considered in Los Angeles. Even Colorado, where laws long forbid rainwater catchment because the legal owner of that water was downstream, changed their laws in 2009 to allow rainwater harvesting.

As the population grows and available water levels remain the same, legally requiring rainwater catchment may become the norm, not the exception.

Posted on Apr 28, 2010

Tags:

harvesting rainwater, rain catching, raintwater harvesting, rainwater, rainwater catchment, rainwater collection, rainwater laws

About the Author

Scott James

Scott James is a green copywriter living in San Francisco. He enjoys good coffee, innovative minds and challenging conversation. An experienced whitewater rafting and backcountry guide, he is passionate about water issues and the environmental web.

2 Responses to “The Politics of Rainwater Harvesting”

Jesse Las Marias

Apr 29, 2010

If there is anything that must be done regarding RA No. 6716, (AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER WELLS, RAINWATER COLLECTORS, DEVELOPMENT OF SPRINGS AND REHABILITATION OF EXISTING WATER WELLS IN ALL BARANGAYS IN THE PHILIPPINES), it has to be amended first. Having been in limbo for two decades, it has become obsolete and insufficient to meet current realities.