Map candidate sources and check who owns the water
List every possible source on or near the land and confirm you may legally use it. In many countries water is licensed separately from land, so this hands off to the legal module early.
How
- Walk the land and mark roofs, existing wells, springs, streams, ponds and wet areas on the site map.
- Ask neighbours and local drillers about well depths and yields in the area.
- Hand the list to the legal module (legal-1) to check water rights, abstraction licences and rainwater rules. Rules vary by country and even by state or county.
- Example, England: taking 20 cubic metres (20,000 L) a day or less from a source usually needs no abstraction licence, and rainwater harvesting is covered by an Environment Agency regulatory position statement rather than a blanket exemption.
- Example, USA: CDC notes some states regulate rainwater collection, so check with your state environmental quality or health department.
- Rank sources by reliability, quality, cost and legal certainty. Most estates combine two (for example rainwater plus a borehole) so one can cover the other.
- Rainwater can be regulated too. Example, Colorado (USA): a typical home may use up to two rain barrels totalling 110 US gallons (about 416 L) for outdoor use only, while homes with an exempt residential well can apply for a rooftop collection permit that allows uses under the well permit.
Do these first
Sources
- Collecting Rainwater and Your Health: An Overview. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), accessed 2026-11
- Check if you need a licence to abstract water. UK Government (Environment Agency), accessed 2026-11
- Rainwater, storm water and graywater. Colorado Division of Water Resources, accessed 2026-11