Neither Crystal Lake nor McHenry County prohibits residential rain barrels or rainwater collection, and Illinois has no statewide ban. The McHenry County Stormwater Management Ordinance actively encourages on-site infiltration and volume control; any potable reuse must meet the Illinois Plumbing Code.
There is no county or city rule barring homeowners from capturing roof runoff in rain barrels or cisterns for outdoor use, and Illinois imposes no statewide prohibition. In fact, McHenry County's Stormwater Management Ordinance is built around keeping runoff on-site, listing infiltration basins, infiltration strips, filter strips, and vegetated swales as favored treatment methods. Larger projects that add 5,000 square feet or more of impervious area, or hydrologically disturb 5,000 square feet, must obtain a stormwater permit and manage runoff volume. Indoor/potable reuse of harvested rainwater is regulated separately under the Illinois Plumbing Code (77 Ill. Adm. Code 890).
Simple rain barrels for garden use need no permit. Grading, cisterns, or drainage changes that trigger the county's 5,000-square-foot thresholds without a stormwater permit violate the Stormwater Management Ordinance (fine up to $750 per day).
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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McHenry County Conservation District sites are open to the public only from sunrise to sunset, or as posted. No one may enter or remain in a conservation sit...
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The McHenry County UDO requires new permanent residential lighting to be positioned so the bulb or polished reflective surface cannot be seen directly throug...
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The McHenry County UDO requires new permanent commercial or industrial lighting to use a fully shielded fixture positioned so the bulb or reflector cannot be...
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Small garage-sale yard signs are exempt from permitting under the McHenry County UDO. A larger temporary structural sign is capped at one per street frontage...
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Yard signs are an exempted sign type under the McHenry County UDO and need no permit. Any exempted or temporary sign may display a noncommercial (political) ...
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McHenry County has no separate tiny-home category. A tiny home can only be a legal second dwelling if it qualifies as an ancillary dwelling unit under the UD...
See how McHenry County's rainwater harvesting rules stack up against other locations.
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