Oregon
Rainwater Collection Laws In Oregon
Oregon exempts rooftop rainwater from its water right system outright. Collecting precipitation from an artificial impervious surface needs no application, permit or certificate.
Statute text checked September 2026. Next review March 2027.
No state limit on rooftop collection Where the state stands
None Permit needed
No cap Residential volume limit
The statute is silent Drinking it
What you can use it for
- Any use of water collected from a roof or other artificial impervious surface
Drinking it: the statute is silent. Treatment is a separate question from legality, and the answer is on Is Rainwater Safe To Drink?.
Your homeowners association
Oregon has no statute limiting what an association can do about rain barrels, so the covenant you signed is the rule that applies.
The general case is on HOA Rules And Rain Barrels.
What surprises people
- The exemption is worded broadly: the collection of precipitation water from an artificial impervious surface, and the use of such water, sits on a list of uses that need no water right.
- Artificial impervious surface is the operative phrase. A roof qualifies. A hillside does not, and diverting a stream is an entirely different legal question.
- No volume cap appears in the exemption.
- Plumbing and health rules still govern what happens once the water is inside a building, and those are separate from the water right question this statute answers.
- No state limit on rooftop collection
- Allowed, with limits worth reading
- Real restrictions on ordinary collection
Sources
Verified September 2026.