1. Comprehensive Land Use Planning and Zoning
Planning for protection.

2. Overview Comprehensive land use planning
Involves taking an inventory of current land uses/conditions and planning for future land use
Should also take into consideration comprehensive plans of nearby communities/counties
A comprehensive plan should address a broad range of topics and interests, including:
environmental conditions
housing
traffic
utilities
community services (e.g. libraries, firehouses, police stations)
recreation
conservation
economic development
historic preservation
community values
An example of a land use decision that protects water quality is one that reduces impervious surfaces to reduce runoff and allow more infiltration of storm water.
Good Water. Good Health. Good Choices.

3. Overview Zoning Creates land use districts to separate
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Agricultural
Other land uses
Most effective in directing future development to protect source water
Zoning is not useful in changing current and existing development. Pre-existing land uses are generally grandfathered or exempt from regulation unless changes in land use are proposed.
An example of a zoning ordinance that relates to water quality is a wellhead protection ordinance, which regulates the permissible activities and land uses in a well field.
Good Water. Good Health. Good Choices.

4. Did You Know? Overlay zoning districts
Special districts that add another layer of zoning regulation to an already zoned area
May include:
Land use controls
Subdivision regulations
Special permitting
Performance standards
Growth controls
To create an overlay zoning district for source water protection, a scientifically sound delineation of the source water protection area must be conducted. Each district’s regulations may be tailored to minimize the contamination potential of certain known contaminants in the area.
Land Use Controls - to target activities that use dangerous substances or that target the substances themselves. Some examples of substance-specific land use controls are prohibiting gas stations in sensitive areas, requiring double-hulled or corrosion-resistant underground storage tanks in sensitive areas, requiring minimum setbacks for on-site wastewater treatment systems, or requiring regular maintenance and inspection of on-site wastewater treatment systems.
Subdivision Regulations - Subdivision regulations govern the process by which individual lots of land are created out of larger tracts and are intended to ensure that subdivisions are appropriately related to their surroundings. Some examples of subdivision regulations are those that govern the siting of on-site wastewater treatment systems and storm water infiltration structures to ensure they do not contaminate groundwater and protect aquifer recharge areas and manage drainage (e.g. using erosion control structures) to ensure that runoff does not become excessive as the area of paved surfaces increases.
Special Permitting - to restrict uses within certain areas where they may cause contamination if left unregulated. Regulations ensure that extra attention is paid to the property. When certain precautions are taken, these particular uses should not pose a threat to the water supply.
Performance Standards - to establish a threshold beyond which the impact of a use or activity is unacceptable. The threshold must be scientifically sound and set a standard to limit the impact of allowable land uses. Monitoring and enforcement are necessary to ensure the standards are met consistently over time. TMDLs (total maximum daily loads) are an example of a performance standard used to monitor surface water quality. Regular on-site wastewater treatment system inspection and maintenance and leak detection systems for underground storage tanks are examples of performance standards used to safeguard and monitor groundwater quality.
Growth Controls - Growth controls time the occurrence of development by enforcing predetermined standards for water quality. The level to which development can maintain an established level of water quality dictates development.
Good Water. Good Health. Good Choices.

5. What You Can Do
Learn what ordinances or programs are in place to protect water quality.
Visit for ordinance examples.
Contact your state drinking water agency and/or local source water protection professionals for more information.
Find out if a community in your area has adopted a source water protection ordinance.
Contact your local zoning ordinance to learn what ordinances or programs are in place to protect water quality.
If there are no zoning ordinances that protect water quality, or water quality is not considered in land use decisions, consider appropriate action to make drinking water source protection part of local processes.
There is no reason to create a zoning ordinance from scratch.
Contact your state drinking water agency and/or local source water protection professionals for state, regional, and local examples or model examples of source water protection ordinances.
If you know of a community that has adopted a groundwater or watershed protection ordinance, contact them and ask them for a copy. They may also be willing to share lessons learned as they developed and adopted the ordinance.
Good Water. Good Health. Good Choices.

6. Contacts
Insert local contact information
The Groundwater Foundation
P.O. Box 22558
Lincoln, NE
Insert your local contact information.
Good Water. Good Health. Good Choices.