By Stephanie Stephens, YRK Water Quality Advocate
On February 23, 2026 Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) and Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) hosted the second forum of a series to inform stakeholders and local residents about water quality in their region and the High Rock Lake Rules, which are designed to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, stormwater and agricultural runoff in all waters that drain into High Rock Lake. This forum was designed specially for the Middle Yadkin subbasin in the Know Your Watershed portion, which includes Forsyth and Yadkin counties. The Know Your Watershed presentation covers water quality information of the region, like streams that are listed on NCDEQ’s 303d Impaired list, E.coli hotspots on the Yadkin River that threaten recreational safety, and large storm event impact and future preparedness. This part of the event highlights water quality trouble in your community, some of which can be remedied by the proposed solutions to runoff in the High Rock Lake Rules. We hoped to connect a downstream impairment to those upstream, showing how runoff is a watershed wide concern.
In the second portion of the forum, special guest Rich Gannon of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality gave a presentation on the status of the High Rock Lake Nutrient Management Strategy (HRL Rules) after nearly all drafts have been released for contributing sectors. Rich’s presentation included a new updated timeline for the Rules process as it goes through final drafts, public commenting for 60 days and finally a proposal for adoption by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) in Raleigh. The Rules would be implemented most likely, if adopted, by the end of 2028 or early in 2029. A second special presentation during the Rules portion of the forum was from Director of Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin Association (YPDRBA) David Saunders, who introduced the behind the scenes data analysis work of this group of unified utilities operators that has contributed to the baseline data that is used to design nutrient reductions in the wastewater sector. We truly appreciate Rich and David for preparing presentations for this forum!
YRK would like to thank Bill Brewer, Deputy Director of Water and Wastewater of Winston-Salem, Kaitlin Chamberlain Senior Community Educator of Winston-Salem Stormwater Division, Keith Larick Natural Resources Director of NC Farm Bureau, Richard Cockerham Staff Forester at N.C. Forest Service, Dr. Woodruff Faulk, Forsyth Audubon, Sierra Club, NC Soil and Water, YRK Board members, and all who attended; we enjoyed chatting over snacks and your questions during the presentations. We extend a very special thank you to Danica Heflin PTRC Program Coordinator of Stormwater SMART and Carter Spradling PTRC Assistant Planning Director, for providing our event location, getting us set up and for staying late.
The next forums will be held in the Upper Yadkin subbasin at Happy Valley Filling Station, in Patterson, NC on March 5, 2026 from 5:30-7:30 pm and the final Forum will be held at the Catawba Center for the Environment in Salisbury on March 19 at the same time. You can register to attend either of these forums below!
March 5th forum at Happy Valley Filling Station:
https://www.yadkinriverkeeper.org/events/2026/3/5/upper-hrl-forum
March 19th forum at Catawba Center for the Environment:
https://www.yadkinriverkeeper.org/events/2026/2/27/final-hrl-forum