The NC Sierra Club Foothills Group has chosen to pursue a project designed to achieve a measurable improvement in area water quality.

The national Sierra Club has made "Strengthening Water Protections" a key priority, emphasizing the need for state-level action to ensure that communities and families can benefit from resources these waters should provide – such as clean drinking water, supporting ecosystems and wildlife, outdoor recreation, and protection against flooding impacts. Here in North Carolina, our state chapter has fought for over 50 years to protect our water from pollution. 

Water is the lifeblood of our community, essential for our health, recreation, and natural heritage. Yet, we see pollution levels rising in our waterways. This project is a direct response to that unacceptable trend. Aligning with core priorities at both the national and state levels of the Sierra Club, the Foothills Group seeks to move beyond advocacy to achieve a measurable positive result for the waterways our communities utilize. 

To achieve our goal, we have initiated an effort to facilitate an outcome-based collaboration of environmentally focused individuals and organizations. 

Most organizations involved in area water quality issues often cooperate with other groups on community education events, public advocacy campaigns, and strategic collaborations (such as the effort to prevent installation of the Transco pipeline/SSEP). The Foothills Group has participated in many of these activities. Those actions do make a difference. Complex water quality issues cannot be resolved by any single organization working alone.

 We believe, by combining the expertise and resources of environmentally focused organizations, the collaborative can deliver a measurable improvement that benefits the community.

Our primary goal is the creation and implementation of a collaborative action plan that delivers a clear, positive change in area water quality. 

The scope—whether it focuses on a specific pollutant, a particular stream, or a broader regional goal—will be determined by the coalition itself.

We do not view this project as a one-off event but a long-term effort.   We believe this collaboration will achieve a measurably healthier, cleaner waterway and that success may require a multi-faceted strategy.

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Preliminary Water Quality Collaboration Meeting

The first meeting of the Water Quality Collaborative was held on November 17, 2025.
The meeting was attended by nineteen people representing the Yadkin River Keepers,
The NC Chapter of the Sierra Club, The Foothills Group, the Environmental and
Sustainability Department of Wake Forest University, Forsyth Soil and Water
Conservation Department, Kernersville and Winston-Salem Storm Water management
departments, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Environmental Project Planning, Forsyth
Agricultural Extension Office, the Audubon Society, the Piedmont Environmental
Alliance, and Salem Academy and College. Participants identified sediment run-off and
nutrient pollution, PFAs in the waterways, and increased flooding events as the top
problems affecting water quality in this area. Known solutions, barriers to those
solutions, and potential actions that would address water quality problems were
discussed and listed as potential projects. Public education/increased awareness about
these issues was viewed as an important step towards reducing pollutants in our
waterways.
Seven attendees volunteered to serve on the steering committee to provide overall
management of projects conducted by the collaborative.
Those in attendance viewed this first gathering as a positive step towards achieving
measurable improvement in the quality of our waterways. The steering committee is
planning for the first meeting to be held in early January, and we expect to hold the next
meeting of the full collaborative later that month.
The Foothills Group will welcome anyone to join us in this effort to reduce pollution
levels in our waterways. To be successful we will need plenty of help, so if you are
interested please contact us at debdemske@gmail.com