By STEPHANIE FOSNIGHT for Pioneer Press

When it rains hard, droplets roll off David Husemoller and Peggy Wingo's driveway. And roof. And on the long stretches of lawn their two boys play on.

But instead of pouring down the slope of the back yard and into the alley, where the water would gather grease and oil and fertilizer runoff from the neighborhood before making its way into the sewers, the rain that rolls down this Grayslake property puddles in a dish-like garden at the edge of the yard.

David Husemoller created a rain garden and a pond in his Grayslake yard to conserve water.  (Joe Shuman/For Pioneer Press)

The native plants in the rain garden catch the water and soak it up, pulling the moisture deep into the earth with root systems that go down as far as 15 feet. In return, the plants thrive. Just now the garden is a mass of green, but soon it will be blooming in long successions of pink, white, purple, yellow and orange.

"In areas where we don't have water from Lake Michigan, we need to recharge the aquifers," said Husemoller, a native plant enthusiast who sells various local species at his EarthWild plant stand, open Saturdays in Prairie Crossings' Station Square.

Husemoller's rain garden is just one of several ways he has minimized how much water he needs to maintain his landscaping. Although northeastern Illinois is not in a drought, the groundwater supplies are still being replenished after several dry years, particularly the 2005 drought when almost every community enforced strict watering restrictions.

"There is a limited amount of water and the water we use is constantly being recycled, so we want to be careful with it," said Nancy Pollard, horticulture educator for the University of Illinois-Extension. "We don't want the water tables to continue to drop."

Conserving water outdoors also limits runoff of chemicals into waterways and helps prevent flooding in home basements.

"Another reason you want to use water wisely is because you pay for it," Pollard said.

Barrel of rain

North suburban residents are catching onto clever water-saving techniques, according to Mea Blauer of the Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District. She was flabbergasted but very happy when the organization recently sponsored a rain barrel sale--and sold 472 rain barrels quicker than you can say "conserve."

"It was more than I ever dreamed we would sell," Blauer said. "Obviously, the demand is there."

Blauer still gets requests for rain barrels, so she directs residents to the Web site www.rainbarrelsandmore.com where, for about $100, customers can buy a 50-gallon barrel that will collect water from the gutter and hold it for garden watering. A net over the top prevents mosquito larvae, and the gardener uses a spigot to siphon off water whenever necessary.

Blauer ordered two rain barrels for her own Waukegan yard and was surprised that they filled completely after just a few rains.

"I've been been using it a little bit at a time to water my vegetable garden and I still have some left," she said. "I don't have to use my tap water."

90,000 gallons saved

While saving a few gallons of water here and there in your own yard might not seem like it makes a difference, Blauer calculated that if all of the rain barrels they sold get filled up a few times this season, the group of homeowners will save a total 90,000 gallons of water this year.

"Instead of having that water go into the storm sewer, you can actually keep that water on your property and replenish the groundwater," she said.

Husemoller was so pleased with his rain garden that he was inspired to take on another project after he realized his sump pump emptied out a few inches beyond his rain garden into the alley.

"I thought, 'Gee I'd like to catch that water,'" he said. "So I created a pond."

In May, Husemoller hired a professional to dig a 2-foot deep pond out of the hard clay in front of the rain garden. Now the groundwater collected by the sump pump drains into a pond and, if the pond gets too full, drains out the other end back into the alley.

Although his pond filled up after just a few storms, it has yet to drain back out of the yard at the other end.

"Instead of shooting it away, keep it in your yard," he said. Husemoller has high hopes for his little pond, from landscaping around the edges with more native plants to creating a warm, flat "sitting rock."

He's already introduced local tadpoles to the pond in hopes of raising his own frogs. Dragonflies and birds have already discovered the water hole.

"This is not the most beautiful pond in the world, but it's achievable," he said. "Just about anyone can do it."