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Gaithersburg needs more ‘green.'

So-called green streets, green roofs, green gardens, rain gardens and other natural stormwater management strategies are essential to reducing sediment pollution and nutrient growth in area waterways as population grows, said Gaithersburg Environmental Services Director Erica Shingara.

"We'll have to do additional work to reduce pollution from stormwater," she said, pointing to inadequate stormwater management, future population projections and maximum limits placed on nutrients and sediment dumped into Clopper Lake and the Chesapeake Bay.

Shingara introduced Gaithersburg's draft Water Resources Element of the 2009 Master Plan at a joint public hearing of the mayor, council and Planning Commission. The document goes hand-in-hand with a Municipal Growth Element aimed to gauge the city's population growth.

Maryland requires both documents to plan for infrastructure needs, city planners said. Once finalized and approved by the state, they will guide development until 2030.

"There may be 900,000 more people in Maryland by 2030, so it's critical to look at water supply and how it's managed," Shingara said. "There are jurisdictions in Maryland that have run out of water or realized that they don't have sewer capacity to meet their needs."

The water element — which looks at drinking water supply, wastewater services and how stormwater runoff is handled — shows 31 percent of the city has no stormwater management strategies, 65 percent meets pre-2000 standards, and 4 percent meets 2000-2009 stormwater standards.

The existing system cannot meet future goals of reducing stormwater pollution, Planning Commissioner John Bauer said.

New state stormwater management regulations are expected in May, new state sediment and erosion control standards by 2011 and federal requirements for implementation plans under the Clean Water Act are coming. Future development must also comply with the city's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, which links development to the availability of facilities needed to service it.

Gaithersburg's draft water element is not ready, said Dan Campos, co-chairman of the city's Environmental Affairs Committee, who called for more analysis on the impacts of impervious surfaces, such as concrete sidewalks, parking lots and rooftops, on watershed health.

"Water quality in the city and this region continues to degrade as growth continues, especially in older developed areas and areas with increasing impervious cover," he said. "Given the direct impacts that impervious areas [have] on stream health, groundwater recharge, temperature, drought conditions, water quality and aquatic ecosystems, a more detailed analysis and discussion of impervious area should be included in the element."