Advocacy Field Guide

For Community Members

Let’s improve water quality, together, for all North Carolinians.

Whether you’ve called your elected officials about a water quality concern in your community, reported an algal bloom to the NC Department of Water Resources, or you just found us and aren’t sure what your next steps are, we’re glad you’re here. Let’s work together to protect and improve the environmental integrity of our waterways.

Field Guide:

1

Learn!

Get informed about the leading pollution problems in our waterways. Following issues, legislation, and local news and talking with friends and family keeps our waterways visible and builds public pressure needed to create lasting change.

2

Vote!

Local, state, and federal elections directly impact water quality decisions. Voting ensures leaders who value North Carolina’s streams, rivers, lakes, and communities have the power to protect them.

3

Advocate!

Together, we can hold elected officials and polluters accountable and educate our neighbors on pressing environmental concerns. 

  • Email your local officials and state legislators. Introduce yourself, urge them to support specific priorities, and explain why you care.
  • Write about your experiences, opinions, and ideas through letters to editors, neighborhood newsletters, social media posts, and blogs.
  • Follow your Riverkeeper on social media to stay up to date on issues and advocacy alerts.