Urban water rights exist...for some

According to the government, water on a person's roof is surface water.

Surface water is ''non-taken'' water.

However, it is impossible for water on a roof to be ''non-taken'' when water in a rainwater tank is ''taken''.

The legal meaning of surface water is water flowing over land after having fallen as rain.

It is impossible for the meaning of surface water to include water collected from roofs for rainwater tanks.

To clarify the government's position, the government has been asked this question: Is water legally captured from its natural source and taken under a person's control when it falls as rain on that person's roof?

The answer ''no'' will mean that a person does not capture rain and take it under their control by means of their roof.

The answer ''yes'' will mean that the government does not have the legal right to tax the use of water collected from roofs for rainwater tanks.

Tasmanian Government Policy

Government policy is that rain on a building is dispersed surface water because the rain would have fallen on land were the building not there; however, the government is unsure whether a person's roof is a device for taking rain (Attachment 25).

The matter is resolved by reference to state building regulations, which set out the manner by which rain must be captured and taken under a person's control when it falls on that person's roof.