Are there any laws or rules governing the construction, operation, and maintenance of rainwater harvesting systems?
At present, there are no national standards or regulations for rainwater harvesting systems. In Texas however, several laws have been passed in support of rainwater harvesting. In 2005, the 79th Texas Legislature established the Rainwater Harvesting Evaluation Committee (HB 2430) and directed the TWDB and three other agencies to formulate recommendations for minimum water quality standards for potable and non-potable indoor use, treatment methods, conjunctive use with existing municipal water systems, and ways in which the state can further promote rainwater harvesting. The TWDB representative, Dr. Hari J. Krishna, serves as the Chairperson of this inter-agency committee. The committee is required to provide its report of recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 2006. One other law that may be of potential interest for homeowners interested in installing a rainwater harvesting system is HB 645 passed by the 78th Texas Legislature, 2003. This law prohibits homeowners’ associati
