This document outlines groundwater management strategies for municipal officials. It notes that while the region receives abundant precipitation, local overuse and water quality problems are still possible if left unmanaged. It then describes a model groundwater protection ordinance that has been adopted by several Dutchess County towns. The ordinance establishes development standards and best practices to safeguard both groundwater quantity and quality. These include regulating certain land uses, prohibiting new underground fuel tanks, guidance for cluster subdivisions, and more rigorous pumping test requirements. The model aims to preserve aquifer and stream flows while also addressing issues like pharmaceutical contamination and climate change impacts. Towns can adopt this law or planning boards can apply its guidance under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.