I want to hear your story but be careful!

There is no utility company that serves us here, I was insinuating that maybe other homesteaders do have a utility. As a community we actively resist the idea that a company would come in and charge us for the water, even as we sometime grumble about fixing our pipes ;p The last thing we want is them dumping an unreasonable amount of chlorine in our fresh spring water, although we of course do boil it before drinking.

Due to the constant nature of flowing water, I don't think we can waste it, we just need to make sure to direct it appropriately to avoid erosion and maximize drainage as it finds its way back to the mountain streams.

We get a lot of rain here, over 2100mm per year. How much where you are at?
We try to use the rainwater to the best of our ability, I have started forming some terraces and we plant on contour, rain also fills the dogs bowls and a tank for watering the grow-house plants. Most future projects that we dream of usually have some sort of rainwater capture involved.

Love and Light!