#new Fast Fact: An Oregon man, Gary Harrington, who owns a 170-acre rural property in Jackson County, was convicted and thrown in jail for collecting, storing and using rainwater that fell on his property.
Harrington built three large reservoirs on his property. He said he mainly wanted the water for wild-fire protection and for the wild-lifeo n his land.
However in 2002, the state ordered him to stop collecting the water. So he applied for permits which he got.
But the state took him to court and won.
Then in 2008 he pleaded guilty to doing the same thing, collecting, storing and using rainwater that fell on his land.
He received a fine, was placed on one year of probation, and was ordered (again) to drain the three reservoirs.
He complied at the time, until they caught him in 2012 collecting and storing rainwater, leading to the convictions on nine misdemeanors.
The judge sentenced him to 30 days in jail, gave him a $1,500 fine, and three years of probation.
The state argued that Harrington wasn’t just collecting water off his roof, but the issue was about large-scale reservoirs that were blocking the natural flow of water that would have gone into a creek.
Harrington fought back saying the state yanked his permits after giving them to him, and he was standing up for basic rights.
“The government is bullying” he said. He called it a fight for liberty and said he was willing to go to jail to make the point.
Harrington lost his appeals. The dams came down, the water was drained, and the state won, showing that In Oregon, even the rain has a government owner.
The state of Oregon has had a democrat governor since 1987 and has held full control of the state government (governor plus both legislative chambers) for most of the past 18 years, with unbroken Democrat majorities in the legislature since 2013.
As of 2026, Democrats hold a supermajority (three-fifths or more) in both chambers of the state legislature
