Water Nutrient Committee

High Rock Lake is North Carolina’s second largest freshwater resource, primarily fed by the Yadkin River, which originates in the mountains. Alcoa created this lake by constructing the High Rock Dam in the 1920s, a hydroelectric power generation system to run its aluminum metal smelting operations. The Yadkin River eventually turns into the PeeDee River, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean and is termed the High Rock Watershed. Both nature and humans use this precious natural resource of water, and unmanaged use by human stakeholders has a detrimental effect on the balance of this ecosystem.

High Rock Lake is the principal repository of all that the Yadkin carries, and the quality of water in our lake directly reflects how well we manage the human use of the Yadkin Watershed. The term “Nutrient Management” has been adopted by North Carolina to assess the quality of our freshwater resources. There are some positive and many adverse effects caused by the quantity and types of “nutrients” deposited into our lake that can endanger the wildlife in that ecosystem. Although sand, silt, and debris the Yadkin River carries into our lake are not considered “nutrients,” these natural deposits are beginning to impact our lake. (See our "Sedimentation Study" and "Safety & Navigation" news threads, which address these topics more directly.)

This news feed will inform our members of an activity undertaken by the North Carolina Division of Water Resources to examine the health of this watershed and determine steps that could be recommended to improve the water quality level of High Rock Lake. The High Rock Lake Steering Committee, chaired by the Planning Branch of the Division of Water Resources, was created to examine those questions. The High Rock Lake Association was proud to serve as a voting member of this committee, one of the few members who actually represent those who live on or near the lake and use it recreationally.

Stay tuned for a regular series of updates to come!