Rainwater harvesting is legal and unrestricted for homeowners in Washtenaw County and Michigan. Ann Arbor actively encourages rain barrels, rain gardens, and cisterns, and even offers stormwater-credit reductions for capturing runoff on-site.
Michigan places no statewide limit on residential rainwater collection, and Washtenaw County does not restrict it. The City of Ann Arbor, through its Water Resources office, promotes on-site rainwater capture as a stormwater best practice. Residents can install rain barrels, cisterns, dry wells, and rain gardens, and may qualify for residential stormwater-credit reductions on their stormwater utility charge by managing runoff on their property. Larger cisterns or connections tied into development or a county drain may require review by the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, but ordinary backyard rain barrels do not.
No penalties for residential rainwater harvesting. Permitting only arises for larger systems that discharge to or modify a regulated county drain.
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See how Washtenaw County's rainwater harvesting rules stack up against other locations.
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