Bill seeks to make rain barrels legal in Colorado

[world wide wally]

4. Water laws in the west are wild (for lack of a better word)

Since water is a scarcity, even as you are inundated back east, countless hours are spent in court fighting over water out here. Actually, the first to claim it has rights to it. Therefore, we in Colorado, are required to not take any water from the Colorado River until California gets what it has claimed because they have first rights.
That is where the logic of not collecting from your roof and preventing it from where it is "supposed to go" enters the picture.

At least until the shit hits the fan, as is happening now. Then it goes to "possession is 9/10 of the law. It will be playing out shortly unless California starts getting some serious rain.