Road salt to make icy roads safer can harm aquatic ecosystems, Illinois RiverWatch director says

Excess road salt typically ends up being washed into the stormwater system, which carries the salty water into a nearby river or stream. (Provided)

We are entering the road-salt season. But that salt — meant to treat roads and sidewalks — often ends up in waterways, where it can harm aquatic life. 

The Illinois RiverWatch Network is tackling this problem with citizen science, training anyone who’s interested to monitor those levels. Their program is called Winter Chloride Watchers.