On 2010-09-03 18:44:39 +0100, harry said:

(snip)

Rain water is owned by you until it leaves your property when it
becomes the property of the local water supply company.. Any other
water, springs streams etc is also owned by them. You need to buy a
licence to remove water fro a spring or stream. Supposing they find
out. You need a different licence to dam a stream.

There was a case a few years back when the water companies claimed
that rain was their's. Someone sued them for damages because their
rain came in his roof. Norfolk somewhere I think it was. They
canceded rain after that.
Now we need someone to sue them whem the river comes into their
house:-)

I was shocked to discover during the drought of 2006 that no water
company or local authority makes any attempt to recycle run-off water
from roofs, roads, etc. It flows into the drains and out to sea.

An extraordinary waste of a valuable resource during drought periods --
and such hypocrisy.