April showers bring May flowers. They can also flood basements, turn streets into rivers and cause sewer overruns into Lake Michigan.
Homeowners can help us avoid that by what they plant around the house.
Rain gardens do a lot to slow down the flow of heavy rain and they can look good doing it.
Hydrogeologist Jay Feiker says the gardens do what our lawns and driveways don't do.
They use native plants and looser soil to drink up the rain.
That slows down the flow of water keeping it out of the sewer system.
It then gradually soaks into the earth.
"The native plants actually use the water. They have a very deep root system versus turf grass which is about an inch," Feiker said.
Fresh Coast Guardians and MMSD help build about 200 of these gardens every year.
Their website is filled with instructions and videos about how to do this yourself.
For more information on rain gardens or to take part in the MMSD rain garden plant sale, click here.
