Just how does a rain garden help the Earth?

It may seem like an efficient way to handle a big rainfall: the water gathers in your gutters then spills down the driveway and out into the street. So orderly. So systematic.

So wasteful, says Reid Bateman.

The Rolling Meadows assistant director of public works believes there's a better way for homeowners to handle rainwater. He's put this belief into action by promoting the city's first rain garden, built last year at the public works facility on Berdnick Street.

Rain gardens typically are constructed next to buildings to give water that would normally enter storm sewers a place to seep back into the ground. Advocates like Bateman say they could help make the suburbs a greener place - not just for the plants growing in them but also because they help conserve clean water and ease the strain on stormwater systems.

"The time is right," he says. "Everyone's thinking that being green is a good thing, and when local government can reinforce it, that's a good thing to do."

I was curious about how a rain garden works and found that Bateman was eager to tell me about them.

He led me on a tour of the two gardens at the facility. They were built with donated materials not only to show resident how beautiful and simple they are to create, but to actually help with runoff from the large buildings on the site.

The more rainwater homeowners can keep from flowing into the city's storm system, the less waste, Bateman explains. It also will prevent toxins and chemicals from being swept into the system by runoff.

"The goal is to keep the water that falls on their property on their property," he says. "People can directly contribute to the quality of the environment by doing some of these things."

As suburban development continues to sprawl, the strain on the environment only grows, leading to problems like periodic flooding of the Des Plaines River. Bateman, who has read in depth about the time explorers first arrived here, says that in the past the river didn't respond to storms that way.

"When we would have a huge rain here, the level and the clarity of the water wouldn't change a bit," he said.

Bateman doesn't hide his passion for the project. He envisions a city program in which professionals would coach residents building their own rain gardens. In addition, the city could offer sample designs and other how-tos - and perhaps even financial support or stormwater fee waivers.

"If they take measures to reduce the amount of runoff and improve water quality, we'd like to provide incentives," he says.

Bateman also promotes the use of rain barrels which, in addition to keeping excessive water out of the storm system, hold rain for later watering of gardens and lawns. He hopes the city eventually will offer barrels to residents at subsidized costs.

While his ideas haven't moved beyond the proposal stage, he's committed to seeing them through. "Just think of what this does for educating our children. If most of our residents did this, we could be leaders in stormwater management in our area."

Bateman hopes interest in rain gardens will start at the grass-roots level, the same way the recycling movement started 30 years ago. He also would like to gauge the amount of interest among Rolling Meadows residents.

So give him a call at (847) 963-0500. He'd be happy to talk with you.

Colleen Thomas' column appears Fridays. She welcomes your news about community events and people. Call (847) 427-4591, or e-mail her at cthomas@dailyherald.com.