It’s Now Legal to Catch a Raindrop in Colorado - NYTimes.com.
When I was studying for the bar exam, I remember spending probably 5 minutes on water rights. Riparian v. prior appropriation, etc etc. Just enough time to learn it, forget it a day after.
Living in eastern states all my life, I've never had a good reason to put "prior appropriation" rules to any use. It seems totally counter-intuitive that I cannot collect rain that falls in my property.
Of course, if I lived in Colorado, could I then ask the water right owner to pump out my basement after yesterday's storms?
