Henrico County sets no ordinance prohibiting residential rain barrels or rainwater harvesting, and it promotes stormwater capture for water-quality reasons. Virginia law generally encourages, rather than restricts, private rainwater collection.
Henrico has no county rule banning homeowners from collecting rainwater in barrels or cisterns for yard use; the county's stormwater and watershed programs actively encourage capturing runoff to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. There is no permit requirement for an ordinary residential rain barrel. Larger cistern or reuse systems that connect to plumbing would fall under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code and county plumbing review. Because the county sets no prohibition, the governing framework is state building and plumbing code plus common-sense mosquito/overflow control, not a Henrico ordinance.
No county penalty for residential rain barrels. Plumbed reuse systems must meet Virginia Building Code; nuisance conditions (standing water, mosquitoes) could draw a property-maintenance complaint.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Henrico County, VA
Henrico County parks are open only during posted hours and are closed after sunset. Entering or remaining in a park outside the designated hours is a misdeme...
Henrico County, VA
Henrico County limits sign illumination to no more than 0.5 foot candle above ambient light at any property line, and requires exterior lighting to prevent t...
Henrico County, VA
Henrico County has no formal dark-sky ordinance, but its zoning code requires exterior building and security lighting to be full-cutoff, shielded, or angled ...
Henrico County, VA
Henrico County lets a lot post up to two non-illuminated signs, each no larger than 1 square foot or 4 feet tall, without a permit. Garage-sale signs cannot ...
Henrico County, VA
In Henrico County's residential and agricultural districts, temporary noncommercial signs (including political signs) need no permit but cannot exceed 16 squ...
Henrico County, VA
Henrico County has no separate tiny-home ordinance. A tiny house on wheels, an RV, or a travel trailer cannot be used as a dwelling or ADU. A tiny house on a...
See how Henrico County's rainwater harvesting rules stack up against other locations.
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