|
RiverWatch Seeks Winter Volunteers
to Study Road Salt Impact
Send a link to a friend
 [October 13, 2022]
EAST ALTON – Winter is quickly approaching, and
Illinois RiverWatch is hoping to train community members to monitor
for chloride levels in local streams to identify areas where salt
use is impacting water quality.
During the 2021 winter season, the Illinois Department of
Transportation reports using more than 522,000 tons of salt on
roadways throughout Illinois.
“Much of this salt ends up in local rivers and streams where it
harms aquatic life,” said Danelle Haake, RiverWatch director and
stream ecologist. “We are seeking volunteers who are willing to
check on their local streams several times between October and May.
"Each monitoring trip could take as little as 15
minutes!”
The training is held virtually on:
October 26 from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. Register at
https://conta.cc/3TxYgOF
November 14 from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. Register at
https://conta.cc/3TGZB5x
The RiverWatch staff will provide participants with the information
needed to become a Winter Chloride Watcher.
“Our goal is to show whether cities’ efforts are
working to lessen the impact of road salt entering streams as the
cities adopt Best Management Practices for the application of salt
onto roadways,” Haake said.
[to top of second column] |
For more information on the trainings contact Haake at
dhaake@lc.edu or (618) 468-2784.
To learn more about the ecological impacts of road salt in local streams visit
http://www.ngrrec.org/News-Stories/Winter-Road-Salt-Impacts-Aquatic-Ecosystems/.
National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC)
Founded in 2002 as a collaborative partnership between the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Lewis and Clark Community College, NGRREC is
dedicated to the study of great river systems and the communities that use them.
The center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education, and outreach
related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains,
watersheds, and their associated communities. To learn more about NGRREC, visit
www.ngrrec.org.
[Jen Young | she/her | Media
Specialist
National Great Rivers Research and Education Center]
 |
