By Stephanie Stephens, Water Quality Advocate
In the beginning of 2026 Yadkin Riverkeeper and watershed partners will come together to present six educational forums in three regions of the Yadkin River/High Rock Lake watershed. The purpose of the forums is to inform attendees is to inform about local and regional water quality challenges and how those challenges collectively led to the impairment of High Rock Lake (HRL) and the designation of the Yadkin River, upstream of the lake, as “nutrient sensitive.”
The Yadkin River/High Rock Lake watershed has three regions- the Upper Yadkin, the Middle Yadkin and the Lower Yadkin; each forum is designed to focus on local issues specific to that region during the Know Your Watershed segment of the forum, followed by an overview of the HRL Rules. We plan to have expert presenters from each sector responsible for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus explain the rules for Stormwater, Wastewater, Buffers and Agriculture.
Our hope is that anyone interested in water quality or who may have questions about the High Rock Lake Rules will attend the regional forum closest to them! We will provide snacks and refreshments and each forum will last roughly two hours, with an opportunity for Q&A at the end. This is a chance to learn about your region, what you can do to help improve the entire watershed and also, to know how to prepare for the coming rules.
Tentative Forum Schedule and Regions:
