There is currently a great need to expand the understanding of land use policy’s impact on water quality. The purpose of this thesis is to examine local policy in place in Covington, Louisiana in order to find out if it is having an impact on land use, which then has an impact on water quality. Methods used included reclassification of land use categories within a Geographical Information System and analysis of changes in the city over a four year period. Policy was assessed using a pre-existing evaluation method from The Center for Watershed Protection as well as by a more flexible instrument developed by staff and faculty in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University. Three water quality parameters were examined for impairment due to their known correlation to urban runoff. It was determined that Covington’s water quality related policy is insufficient and is having little effect to curtail the types of development occurring within its boundaries. Impervious cover within the city is rising and surface waters both within and around the city are impaired.