State of the Environment Report FY2000

Phone 301-258-6310 Email environment@gaithersburgmd.gov

Gaithersburg supports a healthy, productive environment with clean air and clean water. The role of Gaithersburg's environmental program is to understand environmental concerns, develop strategies, and make decisions consistent with the City's Mission and Strategic Plan that protect and enhance our environmental resources.

The City of Gaithersburg has experienced considerable growth since the first Earth Day in 1970. Gaithersburg has grown from 8,400 people and 6.8 square miles in 1970, to approximately 52,000 people and 10 square miles in Fiscal Year 2000. Farmland and open space have been converted to residential and commercial spaces.

To achieve fundamental lasting improvements in the quality of our environment, as well as for growth and development to continue, it will be necessary to implement some changes. Some of these changes will involve alternative transportation, rethinking landscaping options, and aggressive conservation of resources. Education will help everyone understand the changes that are necessary for a healthy, sustainable future.

Throughout all of our activities, an underlying principle is the realization that every aspect of our environment and environmental health is interrelated. Air pollution affects water quality; impervious surfaces impact groundwater recharge and stream flows; solid waste management affects air and water quality; and noise pollution impacts on quality of life. Environmental quality and our ecosystem impacts extend beyond the City of Gaithersburg's boundaries. Solutions to many environmental problems, such as ground level ozone, must consequently address issues on a broader scale that includes all of Montgomery County and the entire metropolitan Washington area.

The City of Gaithersburg is proud to present the first State of the Environment Annual Report. The City's environmental program will continue to grow in the upcoming years. Residents and property owners committed to improving the environment will carry out the environmental plan. Without local participation and activism, environmental protection will not be able to proceed as quickly as we would like. The key to success is education. The more aware we are of environmental surroundings, the more likely we are to take responsibility.

As we move into the 21st century, the City of Gaithersburg is committed to protecting and enhancing our environmental resources and educating the public in environmental matters.

• Environmental Management Systems
• Water Quality and Quantity
• Stormwater Management
• Integrated Pest Management
• Ambient (Outdoor) Air Quality
• Open Space
• Forestry
• Developments
• Environmental Awareness Week
• City/County Cooperative Efforts
• Volunteer and Special Events
• Partnerships & Affiliations
• Future Activities