High Rock Lake in the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin has long been experiencing deteriorating water quality conditions resulting from excess nutrients and sediment. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is drafting of a series of Administrative Rules to create a nutrient sensitive water (NSW) management strategy for the High Rock Lake watershed. The NSW strategy's goal will be to establish mandatory nutrient controls to address a wide range of point and non-point source pollution sources in the watershed.

In December 2022, the DEQ initiated a partner and stakeholder engagement process to inform rulemaking. As part of that effort an Agriculture Technical Advisory Group was created to generate sector specific recommendations to the state on regulations and other actions needed to improve water quality in High Rock Lake. A Steering Committee, which includes agriculture representatives, was also created to guide stakeholder management recommendations for the watershed and to prepare conceptual rule proposals.

More information about the overall High Rock Lake Nutrient Strategy development process can be found on DEQ's Nonpoint Source Planning High Rock Lake Nutrient Strategy webpage.