SAN DIEGO — With all the recent rain, experts are reminding residents that runoff from homes can carry bacteria and trash directly to waterways.

His property is the puzzle Bruce Ferguson never stops trying to solve. He is constantly looking for ways to improve his home.

“I just love to have the space just to try new landscaping projects and help create a good, native landscape area for wildlife and things,” Ferguson said. “It’s just really good to get my hands in something.”

One of his big passions is conserving water. He was one of the winners in a water smart landscape contest in San Diego County. He has a rain barrel on each corner of his house and rigged up a tiny hose to collect the condensation from his air conditioner. He also engineered a simple bioswale, a landscape feature that collects polluted stormwater runoff and allows it to soak into the ground and filter out pollution before it reaches the storm drain.

Those kinds of changes and more are showcased all around the Water Conservation Garden, a nearly six acre property of displays that showcase water conservation through a series of beautiful themed gardens, such as a native plant garden and a vegetable garden, as well as how-to displays such as mulch and irrigation exhibits. Chelsea McGimpsey works for Project Clean Water, San Diego County’s initiative dedicated to protecting water quality by encouraging greater awareness of everyday actions people can take to reduce runoff and stormwater pollution.

She said the downside to the rainy season is that all the runoff can carry pollutants directly to our storm drains, where it is not treated before entering our local creeks, rivers and the ocean. Something as simple as a rain chain can be an effective way of re-routing rainwater into a bioswale.

“This is a really great way of making sure that your water is getting sucked up while it’s on your property, but it’s not getting soaked into the foundation of your home,” McGimpsey said.

McGimpsey said polluted runoff is a persistent threat to the inland and coastal water quality and public health. While Project Clean Water is focused on San Diego, the messages they promote are applicable to everyone.

“I really enjoy working with Project Clean Water on these because it really is a holistic way of making sure that we’re being smart about what we’re putting out into the environment and we’re also protecting it so it can take care of us too,” she said.

Ferguson said he is ready for the next rainfall and encourages others to look at what they can do around their homes, too.

“Start with one rain barrel or one plant and just think where you can go from there,” he said. “So it’s pretty easy to get started and really rewarding.”

Project Clean Water has a rainy season checklist to help get you started.