Here’s what a rain garden is not: It is not designed to retain standing water and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. It is not a lily pond. It is not a water feature.

CR tested five rain barrels in our labs and outdoors to find out how much water they could hold, how easy they were to set up, and noting any leaks or bulging.

With rain chains, water doesn’t just fall to the ground. You can train the water into a ceramic or stoneware pot so that when it rains, the water drips into the pot for an interesting visual.

These days you can use two rain barrels to collect a maximum of 110 gallons of water. However, this water must be collected from roof runoff and it can only be used in the garden.

Rain barrel basics: Conserving water but not mosquito habitats. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 12, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2025 / 04 / 250407173039.htm.

As water resources dwindle in the U.S. west due to drought and climate change, ... "A 1000 square foot roof and one inch rain will yield over 623 gallons of water," explained Thrasher.