Obviously, I didn't pursue this idea, as that land was for sale 2 years ago. That said I wonder, would a swale fall under that permit rule from the state engineering office? Or does that apply to catchment that doesn't allow rainfall to enter into the soil? I have to admit, I find the rainwater rules in Western states to be weird.
Yeah I missed how old the thread was.
I chatted with on the state engineers recently on this very topic since I plan to build a series of surge retention area to reduce erosion. Short answer, it’s a gray area but if is clearly designed to drain or soak in it’s probably fine. Given how wet this year has been there are plenty of areas on my land that are currently full of standing water that are normally dry within hours.
