This January, the Stroud Center Joins a Multistate Effort to Collect Data and Raise Awareness About Road Salt’s Effects on Fresh Water
January 27–31 is Winter Salt Week, a multistate effort to raise awareness about the harms of road salt, and Stroud Water Research Center is leading the charge in the mid-Atlantic region, helping dozens of organizations sample streams and tell the story of road salt in their communities.
Salt damages infrastructure, threatens the health of lakes and streams, and degrades drinking water. For over 20 years, it has been the subject of scientific investigations and public engagement, as communities seek to understand how winter salting impacts their water year-round and find ways to protect it from the damaging effects of salt.
It’s Time to “Cut the Salt”
In the lead-up to Winter Salt Week, the Stroud Center is sharing road salt information and resources through its Cut the Salt campaign. Anyone can follow #cutthesalt on social media and order a free Freshwater Test Kit at stroudcenter.org/salt.
Mapping Salt Levels
On January 31, organizations throughout the Delaware River watershed and beyond will host stream sampling events for community scientists and volunteers to collect chloride and conductivity data in what scientists call a synoptic sampling event or salt snapshot. Stroud Center scientists will use the snapshot data to produce a high-resolution map of salt concentrations in streams across the region. The data map will be available at stroudcenter.org/salt following the event.
The Stroud Center will host one of the events in partnership with West Chester University and West Chester Borough in Pennsylvania. To participate and learn more, stay tuned to the event page as more details become available.
We hope you’ll join us and our effort to Cut the Salt!
