So, instead of a complicated, integrated roofwater capture/distribution system, I’ve come to the point of designing a sort of talus garland community for each of the eleven buildings I’ve got. While I can still use the plentiful stones laying around as mulch, it won’t require the labor intensive build-up of a “rock formation” as we did in our experiment.

I greatly appreciate your insights. You’ve helped me come a long way in understanding this unique environment here in eastern Washington. = )

I noticed a few typos, I hope you don’t mind me pointing them out.

“seldom more than waste high.”

“the Northwest bares the misfortune”

“ext.”

Paul, the way Bill explained it to me. Rainfall in Washington is the property of the state, as are all bodies of water. You probably gathered from my article that water rights are fiercely debated in the region. The spirit of the law is probably environmental. Since there is already so much strain on the watershed, outlawing rainwater harvesting is one way to keep water in the rivers for the salmon. From a few perspectives it makes a lot of sense. I could easily see how a commercial water harvesting operation could get out of hand, and be a problem. But for household purposes, there is obviously some civil disobedience in order.

Magewars, I’m quite interested in your plans, please let us know if you aquire property, I might want to visit. I have a few ideas pertinent to the Great Basin Desert. The talus garland is very suited to this environment.

Rob, being a Canadian you must certainly recognize the potential of serviceberries aka “saskatoons” and chokecherries. Nobody eats saskatoons in America! It’s as crazy as not harvesting rain! I am also very curious about your plans.

And thanks for the website Mike. My countrymen may eventualy catch on. I think many Americans associate drinking rainwater with poverty. On the radio the other day, I heard about how an Indian reservation, absorbed in the sprawl of Pheonix, Arizona, overcame poverty by offering un-regulated space to developers. Ick.. They used to drink out of rain barrels, but now they drink floridated tap water like the rest of us “affluent” Americans. I guess it’s the price we pay for socio-economic one-upping. As for me, getting Washington’s law changed is pretty high on my political agenda, right up there with banning GMO wheat.

Good luck to all of you. If enough of us can get permaculture sites estabished, people will start scratching thier heads as to why we ever bothered with the water-wars in the first place. Hopefully, the Columbia River will still reach the ocean by then.

Reno NV only gets 8″ of rain (only 4-6″ in some of the areas where land is affordable). We have a goal of finding land nobody wants using the Desert Land Act and using Permaculture techniques to “make it productive.” The Act allows you to obtain up to a sq mile of land for under $100 and requires that at least 20% of the land obtained be “irrigated” and within 8 years be producing crops enough to sustain the workforce needed to grow the crops.

If we use permaculture techniques and (mostly) extremely low water crops the “irrigation” could be from a single well and decent piping. As long as we show the ABILITY to move water to 20% of the property that portion will be fulfilled whether we choose to actually move the water or not.

We’re studying as much as we can to maximize crop production using a mixture of swales, cisterns, other land shaping and whatever possible techniques come our way… Thanks again for one more tool!

Thanks for the inspiration.

Rob