The individual Soil & Water Conservation Districts in the LHCCD have a long history of providing technical and educational assistance to municipalities and private landowners in water quality improvement and natural resource protection and conservation.  The Lower Hudson River Basin has diverse water quality and natural resources concerns, ranging from agricultural to ultra urban.  Despite their differences, the Districts in this region do share one common goal: the abatement of non-point source (NPS) pollution.  Unlike municipalities, Districts have the legal authority to work on private land, as well as public land.  With the hands-on, grassroots approach to conservation, Districts have been the leader in addressing NPS pollution in the Lower Hudson River Basin.

In 2002, with a grant from the Hudson River Estuary Management Program, the LHCCD authorized a comprehensive Non-Point Source Assessment Report, which outlines current conditions, identifies existing efforts in NPS pollution abatement, and provides management recommendations for the Hudson River watershed south of Albany-Rensselaer.