• Original Reporting
  • References

The Trust Project

Original Reporting This article contains firsthand information gathered by reporters. This includes directly interviewing sources and analyzing primary source documents.
References This article includes a list of source material, including documents and people, so you can follow the story further.
The sun rises over an image of Earth, with trees, windmills and birds on the horizon.
(Provided by Gigafact.)

Colorado allows rainwater collection on private property but limits who can collect it, how much they can collect and how it can be used, according to the Colorado Division of Water Resources.

You cannot collect water if you live in an apartment or condominium building with more than four units. You can own up to two rain barrels to catch water, but cannot store more than 110 gallons at a time. Lids are required to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

Collected water can only be used for “outside” purposes such as lawn and garden maintenance, car washing, livestock watering and hot tub filling. It cannot be used indoors or as drinking water.

The limited access is actually a significant change from a century-long state prohibition against collecting rainwater. Lawmakers in 2016 changed the state constitution that had ceded all rainwater to Colorado’s water rights holders, many of whom are farmers. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

See full source list below.

Fact Brief logo

The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-size fact-checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

References:

Rainwater, Stormwater and Gray Water, Colorado Division of Water Resources, accessed May 2024. Source link.

Rainwater Collection in Colorado, Colorado State University Extension, April 2016. Source link. 

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Justin George is a 1995 graduate of Columbine High School. He has worked as a reporter at six news organizations including the Boulder Daily Camera, the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post. Email him at justin@coloradosun.com