The Water Gap Days of water left

Texas

Rainwater Collection Laws In Texas

Texas encourages rainwater harvesting. There is no volume cap on residential collection, the equipment is exempt from sales tax, and your homeowners association cannot ban a rain barrel outright.

Statute text checked September 2026. Next review March 2027.

No state limit on rooftop collection Where the state stands
Only for larger systems Permit needed
No cap Residential volume limit
Allowed with treatment Drinking it

What you can use it for

  • Irrigation
  • Household non-potable use
  • Potable supply where the system meets the public health rules

Drinking it: allowed with treatment. Treatment is a separate question from legality, and the answer is on Is Rainwater Safe To Drink?.

Your homeowners association

Texas law limits how far an association can go. It can regulate where a barrel sits and what it looks like. It cannot ban one outright.

The general case is on HOA Rules And Rain Barrels.

Money back

  • Sales tax exemption on rainwater harvesting equipment Texas Tax Code 151.355 Rainwater harvesting equipment or supplies, and other equipment or supplies used solely to reduce or eliminate water use, are exempt from sales tax.

What surprises people

  • An association may still regulate size, type, shielding and placement, and may keep a barrel out of the area between your house and the street. What it cannot do is prohibit one where there is reasonably sufficient area to put it.
  • A system over 500 gallons that also draws on an auxiliary supply needs a backflow prevention assembly or an air gap at the storage tank.
  • If you intend to use the public water supply as a backup, the statute requires written notice to the municipality or the utility, and the public supply may connect only to the storage tank, never to the plumbing of the house.
  • Installing or maintaining a potable rainwater system connected to a public supply requires a licensed plumber holding a water supply protection specialist endorsement.
Alaska AK Maine ME Vermont VT New Hampshire NH Washington WA Idaho ID Montana MT North Dakota ND Minnesota MN Illinois IL Wisconsin WI Michigan MI New York NY Rhode Island RI Massachusetts MA Oregon. No state limit on rooftop collection OR Nevada. Allowed, with limits worth reading NV Wyoming WY South Dakota SD Iowa IA Indiana IN Ohio OH Pennsylvania PA New Jersey NJ Connecticut CT California. No state limit on rooftop collection CA Utah UT Colorado. Allowed, with limits worth reading CO Nebraska NE Missouri MO Kentucky KY West Virginia WV Virginia VA Maryland MD Delaware DE Arizona AZ New Mexico NM Kansas KS Arkansas AR Tennessee TN North Carolina NC South Carolina SC Oklahoma OK Louisiana LA Mississippi MS Alabama AL Georgia GA Hawaii HI Texas. No state limit on rooftop collection TX Florida FL
  • No state limit on rooftop collection
  • Allowed, with limits worth reading
  • Real restrictions on ordinary collection
Shaded states have a page. The rest are on the calendar.

Sources

Verified September 2026.

  1. Tex. Prop. Code 202.007, Certain restrictive covenants prohibitedTexas statute. Checked September 2026.
  2. Tex. Tax Code 151.355, Water-related exemptionsTexas statute. Checked September 2026.
  3. Tex. Health & Safety Code 341.042, Rainwater harvesting systems connected to a public water supplyTexas statute. Checked September 2026.