Editorial: Rain-barrel compromise makes deluge of sense

Could reason be winning the day in the Colorado General Assembly? Don’t look now, but a compromise is trickling through the corridors of the state Capitol, where opposing sides appear at long last to be willing to allow use of rain barrels to collect water for watering of lawns or gardens.

Colorado is the only state to outright ban such residential rain barrels, but efforts to change the law in the past have been opposed by those who fear dilution of water rights, even though the amount of water lost to holders of downstream water rights is believed to be negligible.

“Property rights are important. The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution establishes property rights, and water rights are a property right,” state Rep. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, told the Denver Post recently.

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But Ignacio said, “We’ve come a long way” in reaching a compromise. The proposed law — House Bill 1005 — would allow for up to two 55-gallon barrels to collect rain water. A similar bill was defeated last year. But two amendments proposed by Republicans paved the way for the bill to progress out of the state House of Representatives and to move on to the Senate.

One amendment specifies that possession of a rain barrel does not constitute a water right, the Post reports. The second requires the state to monitor the impact of rain barrels on water rights.

It’s unclear whether a consistent opponent of rain barrels — Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling  — will endorse the measure. While he told the Post that the bill is “much, much, much better,” he still wants to see how the state will police use of rain barrels and whether their use could be curtailed in the event of a water shortage in downstream rivers and streams.

We hope Sonnenberg’s remaining issues can be addressed in a meaningful way. Water rights are indeed important. But it seems ludicrous that Colorado continues to make it illegal for someone to capture rain water to water their lawns or gardens.

A major battle over rain barrels might seem trivial to some, but the issues over water rights made it a struggle. We’re pleased the compromise appears to have prevailed, and hope that this might serve as a model for other, larger issues.

In the meantime, get ready to water those tomatoes.