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Louisiana: Laws & Legal Considerations

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Rainwater harvesting: broadly permitted statewide

Louisiana law permits collecting rainwater for any legal purpose, with comparatively light state-level regulation.

RuleLouisiana
Source water Rooftop or other catchment
Permitted uses Any legal purpose, provided the collection system doesn't interfere with other water rights holders
Permit required No general state permit for typical residential systems
Local variation Parish-level rules vary; some parishes have tighter restrictions, others few or none

Where to find it: your parish government for any local rules; the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for broader water conservation guidance.

Every other state covered on this site operates under the English common law tradition. Louisiana is the sole exception, its entire legal system, not just water law, descends from French and Spanish civil law, most directly the Napoleonic Code.

ConceptHow it works in Louisiana
Governing framework The Louisiana Civil Code, not common-law precedent, is the primary source of property and water law
Riparian owners' rights A riparian landowner may make reasonable use of adjacent surface water, and may extend that same access to a non-riparian owner for agricultural or aquacultural purposes within the state
Practical effect Louisiana's outcome looks similar to common-law riparian reasonable use in other states, but it's derived from a genuinely different legal tradition and codified civil provisions rather than case law

Why this distinction matters beyond water law

Louisiana’s civil law heritage affects far more than water rights, it shapes contract law, property law, and inheritance law throughout the state in ways that can surprise people used to how the other 49 states’ common-law systems work. Water rights specifically have historically generated relatively little litigation in Louisiana, reflecting the state’s traditional water abundance, but the underlying legal framework is worth understanding on its own terms rather than assuming it works exactly like a “normal” riparian state.

Where to find it: Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 9 (Civil Code-Ancillaries) codifies riparian rights specifically.

Permitless carry since July 2024

Louisiana adopted permitless carry in July 2024, one of the more recent states to do so, with a notable age gap between the permitless standard and its optional permit.

RequirementDetail
Standard Permitless carry, concealed or open, for anyone 18+ legally eligible to possess a firearm, residents and non-residents alike
Optional Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Requires being 21+; $125 fee, valid 5 years, $62.50 renewal (start 90 days before expiration)
Why get the optional CHP anyway Reciprocity in roughly 37 other states that don't recognize Louisiana's permitless carry; also satisfies the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption near K-12 schools, the same gap noted on Arizona's and Tennessee's pages

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