Road salt is everywhere during the winter months. It keeps us safe on roadways and sidewalks, but can pose a threat to wildlife, infrastructure, pets, drinking water, and more. Road salt, especially when used in excess, washes into our storm drains, our streams, and even into our drinking water during snow melt and rain fall. 

In 2018, the Izaak Walton League of America launched the Salt Watch program to mobilize community scientists nation-wide to monitor local waterways for road salt pollution and to advocate for smarter road salting practices. 

Getting involved is easy, simply go to our Salt Watch site and fill out the "Request a Salt Watch Kit" form and a free Salt Watch kit will be mailed to your address! Each Salt Watch kit comes with four test strips, instructions for taking a sample, and instructions submitting the data to our online database, the Clean Water Hub. Monitoring is easy too, all you need is a small jar or cup and your Salt Watch kit. 

Our website also has additional information and resources about road salt pollution, ideas for reducing road salt at home and in the community, flyers, template letters to the editor, letters to representatives, and more!

Go to our Salt Watch site to get started today!