The task force is offering ideas that municipalities can incorporate into land codes when planning new developments. The report contains nearly two dozen provisions that municipalities can adapt and incorporate into local ordinances governing zoning, subdivisions, erosion and sediment control, drainage and design standards for new developments. The suggestions range from relatively simple steps such as identifying swales and drainage outlets with educational signs, to fundamentally changing development patterns through density zoning, or by restricting certain types of construction to specified areas. The report notes that, in undisturbed environments, water is cleaned naturally by plants, soil and microorganisms that decompose and filter out pollutants. This water flushes into urban streams and wetlands, eroding soil and stream banks, destroying habitats, harming fish and other aquatic animals, and threatening underground water supplies.
Impervious surfaces are a necessary evil of modern urban life, according to the report.
Residences on two-acre lots typically have 12 percent impervious cover in roofs, driveways and sidewalks. But it takes only a small amount of impervious cover to harm the health of streams and wetlands, the report warns.