many idiotic councils Australia wide made it illegal to catch rainwater for decades - wouldn't surprise me if some still do.
Apparently in the US - many places it's illegal to catch rainwater.
Brilliant things governments.
IMO - no matter if you are in the guts of a city or out in the boon docks - it is a great thing to have a storage of some size of your own water - even if you have to run it through through filtration systems to drink it. The reality is that water supplies can and do go down - and, in major cities. These days in particular - with the threats of terrorism - how good would it be to have even a few thousand litres sitting there if the poo hit the fan?
I have always personally felt that the greatest threat is actually where people think it's the safest - right in a city.
The thing is - if something does go wrong - you have millions of thirsty and hungry people - which can get very ugly very quickly.
Never have that in the country - unless you have prolonged droughts and the like - which is a vastly different thing.
