Think it can’t happen here?
Regional planners have planted the seeds of this kind of thinking into the minds of our legally elected local boards. The idea that water should be owned by the state and taxed, is an ongoing theme. Just ask Dover NH.
“Revenue generated by a stormwater utility can be used as a new, dedicated source of funds to supplement or replace the community’s current stormwater management funding, enabling tax-based funding to be used for other community needs.”
That said, in a water rich state like Oregon, NH could similarly come under the same regulations and people could be fined and jailed for doing things they have been doing for generations.
“Collecting rainwater on your own property can now lead to jail time, as proven by a man from Oregon who was just sentenced to prison for doing just that. Who owns the rain? The US government, apparently, now. Not so long ago, it was common practice across much of the world to collect rainwater into man made wells on your property as a means of farming, irrigation, and having fresh clean water. It was just as common as canning your own food, having knowledge of at least some basic survival skills, and being self-sufficient.”