Is it illegal to collect rainwater in the UK?
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Part of our garden and rainwater guide
The water butt is full after a wet week, and someone has told you collecting rainwater is against the law. Is it? You can check the water itself at your own butt or tap with a 20-in-1 test strip.
Short answer: In the sources we read, no law bans roof rainwater collection. In England the Environment Agency says you need no abstraction licence for water that only consists of harvested rainwater. Licences apply to taking water from rivers, ponds and groundwater, with an exemption for 20 cubic metres a day or less.
By Andrew Tomlinson, WaterKit · Last reviewed 29 October 2026
Is it illegal to collect rainwater in the UK?
Not in any source we read. The Environment Agency's regulatory position statement for England says you do not need an abstraction licence to use water that only consists of harvested rainwater. We found no source naming anywhere in the UK where roof rainwater collection is banned. The sources we read cover England, and the main Act covers England and Wales, so we say below what we could not check. The law is one question and the quality of the water is another. If you want to see how butt water compares with your tap, a 20-in-1 test strip will give you readings, and our water butt guide explains the butt itself.
What does the licensing law actually cover?
Taking water from a "source of supply". Section 24 of the Water Resources Act 1991 says no person may abstract water from a source of supply without a licence, and breaking that rule is an offence punishable by a fine. The Act marks the section as applying to England and Wales.
Section 221 defines a source of supply as inland waters, or any underground strata where water is or may be contained. Inland waters include rivers, streams and other watercourses, lakes, ponds and reservoirs. A source of supply excludes "discrete waters", meaning a lake, pond or reservoir that does not discharge to any other inland waters. The same section says "surface water" includes water from roofs, but the section 24 restriction is worded around a source of supply. We are not lawyers, so for England the Agency's position statement is the practical answer.
The Environment Agency's abstraction guidance lists rivers, streams, drains, reservoirs, lakes, ponds, canals, springs and aquifers. If you plan to take more than 20 cubic metres (20,000 litres) a day, it says you are likely to need a licence. It also says no licence is needed for 20 cubic metres or less a day, as long as the abstraction is a single operation. Section 27 of the Act sets the same 20 cubic metres in any 24 hours.
What does the Environment Agency say about harvested rainwater?
For England, you do not need an abstraction licence to use water that only consists of harvested rainwater. The position statement defines it as rainwater collected from roofs and other above-ground surfaces, through above-ground pipes and tanks, and isolated from inland waters or groundwater. The Agency says it will not regulate it provided its use does not harm the environment, and that harvesting within a catchment must not affect normal watercourse flow.
| Situation in England | Abstraction licence? |
|---|---|
| Rainwater collected into a tank or reservoir, with nothing else in it | Not needed, says the Environment Agency |
| A rainwater store used for irrigation, and not a source of water supply | Not needed |
| Rainwater mixed with water from a watercourse, land drainage, underground strata, a gravity intake or other licensed water, in a reservoir system that discharges to inland waters | Needed, according to the position statement, with further licences for what goes into the reservoir |
| An unlined reservoir wholly or mainly filled from underground strata | Needed |
| Taking more than 20 cubic metres a day from a river, pond or groundwater | Likely to be needed, says the Environment Agency |
The statement carries a 2021 Crown copyright date, is valid until April 2029, and the Agency says it will review it every 2 years. The Agency says it will not normally take enforcement action if your activity matches the description and conditions and does not, and is not likely to, cause harm to the environment or human health.
What about Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
In the sources we read, the position statement applies to England and the Water Resources Act sections apply to England and Wales. The Act names the Natural Resources Body for Wales as the appropriate agency for Wales. We read no regulator statement on roof rainwater for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no Scottish or Northern Irish legislation, so we cannot say what applies there. The Environment Agency's abstraction guidance page links to separate guidance for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which we did not read. If you are planning more than a garden butt, ask the regulator for your nation.
Why might the water in my butt not match what the rules assume?
A rule for the whole of England describes a type of water, not the water in your own butt. The position statement defines harvested rainwater by how it is collected and stored, from roofs and other above-ground surfaces through above-ground pipes and tanks. In the text we read it does not say what is in that water. We found no official standard for the quality of garden butt water in these sources, so a rule for England does not tell you what is in your own butt. Roofs, gutters and tanks differ from house to house, which is our observation and not an official finding.
“The rules for England describe how rainwater is collected, not what ends up in your particular butt, so I would test a sample of your own rather than assume it matches anyone else’s.”
In the position statement, the one quality-related line is the Agency's enforcement wording about activity that does not, and is not likely to, cause harm to the environment or human health. If you have a butt and a tap in the same house, a strip dipped in each gives you two sets of readings to compare, and our guide to how to test your water at home covers taking the sample. Our guide to drinking rainwater covers that separate question.
Who should I ask if I am not sure?
The regulator for your nation. The Environment Agency says to contact it if you need help to understand whether you need an abstraction licence, on 03708 506 506 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). Our guide to how rainwater harvesting works covers the equipment, and this guide covers licensing only.
How can I check what is in my butt water?
A strip can give you readings for pH and hardness from your own butt, which no licensing rule covers. Fill a clean glass or cup with the water, dip one strip, wait 30 to 60 seconds and match the pads to the chart. You can also scan the QR code on the chart to enter the colours in the free results checker, with no app or account. We have not run strips on butt water, so the last column is our own reading of the chart steps and not a legal limit.
| Check | What our chart can show |
|---|---|
| pH | Six steps from 6.2 to 8.4. We give no verdict on a reading |
| Hardness | Steps at 0, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 425 mg/L, so butt and tap water from the same house can be compared. See our hardness guide. The unit basis is unconfirmed, so treat any comparison with other scales as approximate |
| Coliform bacteria | The optional rapid test, read after 24 to 48 hours, is a presence screen for coliforms in a 2 ml sample and not a count. We do not claim the test for rainwater, so we do not suggest it for butt water |
A strip result has no legal effect and does not replace anything a regulator asks of you. It indicates what the chart shows on the day, nothing more.
The rule for England is a general description of how rainwater is collected, not a reading of your own butt, and roofs, gutters and tanks differ from house to house (our observation, not an official finding), so your butt may differ from anyone else's. The pH and hardness pads are the ones that matter here, and a different step on butt water from your tap in the same house would indicate that the two waters differ. Best pack: 20 strips, enough to compare butt water with tap water and check again after a dry spell, £5.99 (or £10.99 with a bacteria test), with free 2nd Class delivery on every order. See the kit
Your rainwater law questions
Why is it illegal to collect rainwater in the UK?
In the sources we read, no law makes it illegal. Licences apply to abstraction from rivers, ponds, groundwater and similar sources, and we found no source explaining where the claim started.
Is it illegal to collect rainwater?
Not by anything we read. The Environment Agency says that in England you do not need an abstraction licence to use water that only consists of harvested rainwater, provided its use does not harm the environment.
Is collecting rainwater illegal in the UK?
We found no statement saying so. The sources we read cover England and, for the Act, Wales. We read none for Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Is it legal to collect rainwater in the UK?
For England, the Environment Agency says no licence is needed for water that only consists of harvested rainwater. For taking more than 20 cubic metres a day from rivers, streams, ponds or groundwater, the Agency says you are likely to need a licence.
Is rainwater harvesting illegal?
No source we read says so. The Agency has a position statement for England setting out when harvested rainwater needs no licence and when it does.
Can you collect rainwater in the UK?
The Environment Agency's position statement for England describes harvested rainwater as collected from roofs and other above-ground surfaces, via above-ground pipes and tanks, and treats it as needing no abstraction licence.
Is it illegal to store rainwater?
In England, the Agency says you do not need a licence to harvest rainwater into a reservoir, with or without an overflow, if it only contains collected rainwater. Mixing in water from a watercourse, land drainage or underground strata can change that.
Are you allowed to collect rainwater?
In England the Agency's position statement indicates so for water that only consists of harvested rainwater. For other nations we found no regulator statement, so ask the regulator.
Where is it illegal to collect rainwater?
We found no source naming anywhere in the UK where it is banned. We did not read Scottish or Northern Irish sources, so we cannot speak for them.
Sources
- Environment Agency, Rainwater harvesting: regulatory position statement (applies to England, undated page with a 2021 Crown copyright notice, valid until April 2029 and reviewed every 2 years; definition of harvested rainwater, when a licence is and is not needed, enforcement; read 29 October 2026).
- Environment Agency, Check if you need a licence to abstract water (applies to England, published 31 March 2022, last updated 2 July 2026; sources of water, the 20 cubic metre a day exemption, contact details; read 29 October 2026).
- Water Resources Act 1991, section 24 (restrictions on abstraction, England and Wales, offence and fine), section 27 (small quantities, 20 cubic metres in 24 hours) and section 221 (definitions of "source of supply", "inland waters", "discrete waters" and "surface water"; read 29 October 2026).
- WaterKit, Water Test Kit (20-in-1 strip, 30 to 60 second read, optional rapid coliform test read after 24 to 48 hours, free 2nd Class delivery on every order) and results portal. The chart column is WaterKit's own reading of the colour chart steps.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.