Water worries.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

In the last five years, nearly every region of the United States has experienced water shortages, and they're expected to increase as the population grows, the climate changes, aquifers shrink and droughts persist. At least 36 states are anticipating local or statewide water shortages by 2013. Capturing rainwater and diverting or storing it can save on water use. Rainwater can be used to flush toilets, wash pets or cars, and even provide refreshment, after it is treated. Landscaping, however, is the most common and easiest way to use stored rainwater.

Despite the advantages of rainwater "harvesting," Western state water laws have been interpreted to prohibit the practice in Colorado, Utah and Washington. These laws are based on the "first in time, first in right," doctrine that assigns ownership to the person who first claims to use water beneficially from a stream or aquifer. Thus, collecting rainwater has been considered to harm downstream water right...