On 31 March 2010 the Federal
Administrative Court ruled in favour of a judgement on the washing of laundry. According to Dietmar Sperfeld, an expert at Fachvereinigung Betriebs- und Regenwassernutzung e.V. (German Association for Rainwater Harvesting and Water Utilisation), the judgement will also have far-reaching implications for users of rainwater harvesting systems. Water associations, water providers and groups of interested parties are continually casting doubt in the minds of consumers wanting to run their washing machine with rainwater as well as flushing their toilet and watering their garden from such sources. Although such use has long been approved through various judgements, the Federal Administrative Court, the highest level of jurisdiction in Leipzig, has once again underlined this.