WATCH OUT FOR MISLEADING REPORTING Lets face it, all surface water is rainwater. Once it hits the ground it becomes surface water. The water in question is not the rainwater that originated on the owners property, contrary to the statements in the article. This is the basis of my claim of dishonest reporting. Any stream crossing your property is not your water. All surface and underground waters in Washington State belong to the people of the state unless you have a water right - t5his is the system folks. You can only take water by having a private right granted by the state with a certificate. This law goes back to before the beginning of the last century when the first wells were being dug. For a hundred years, local entrepreneurs like this Oregon man, and who do not understand the law are regularly charged with diverting streams into private ponds without a water right. It is like stealing water from irrigation canals without paying for it. I think most people would agree with state and federal agencies regulating the states water rather than just letting people take whatever they want for nothing from any location. By presenting these stories as the government putting people in prison for collecting rainwater, including the picture of a small bucket is not really accurate and it paints an unfair picture of what our government is expected to do for us. After all, this character diverted 13 million gallons of water. I also doubt that the guy went to prison as the story claims, but spent his time in the county lockup. I remember when news stories had a little less slant. Nowadays people seem to be OK with slanted news, as long as the slant is in their direction. Be careful out there folks.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:49:14 +0000
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