Document Actions
Saving rain: How much is too much?
21 Acres featured in recent Seattle PI
Rainwater collection system at 21 Acres
Collecting large amount runs afoul of 'archaic' law
Reprint from Monday, July 21, 2008
Last updated 7:32 a.m. PT
On a nonprofit Woodinville farm devoted to sustainable practices, rain hits a green shed roof covered in a carpet of herbs and moss.
Drops run down a chain into four weathered barrels, draining to a small pond ringed by cherry trees, huckleberry bushes and native plants.
It's a system the 21 Acres farm wants to create on a much grander scale when it breaks ground next year on an agricultural center with farm stalls, classrooms and test kitchens. The new addition could store 150,000 gallons of rain to irrigate dozens of adjacent garden plots, currently sucking up expensive city water.
There's just one problem.
It almost certainly would violate state water law. And if one wanted to be persnickety, so might the rain barrels cities encourage conservation-minded homeowners to buy.
Read more
Volunteer Recognition Day at 21 Acres