Izaak Walton League of America

Historians and scientists have hypothesized that lead-contaminated drinking water caused the fall of the Roman Empire. Water treatment plants today are engineered to avoid the same fate. How well are they working? Ask the residents of Flint, Michigan. Full story

Because we have a big goal of monitoring 100,000 more stream sites, we also have a big goal of training 250 new stream monitors – and that’s just this spring! Full story

There are many ways to measure water quality in local streams. Here at the Izaak Walton League, we’ve found that sampling aquatic macroinvertebrates (aka “stream bugs”) is an inexpensive and accurate test of stream health – one that any citizen scientist can tackle. Full story

At a recent water event, someone asked me an intriguing question: “How do I pick my stream monitoring site?” Protecting the environment should not mean we simply react to each crisis as it comes up. We need to be proactive in monitoring stream health. Full story

Fishing line can cause major problems for wildlife if it is not disposed of correctly. (Monofilament fishing line in particular is made to last: it takes roughly 600 years to decompose!) Monofilament recycling stations are easy to build and provide a place for fisherman to throw away used fishing line. Full story

Baseline data on water quality helps us track changes in stream health over time. Essentially, you can’t know if water quality has changed – for better or worse – without a starting point. Full story

There are countless ways to assess the health of a stream. The Izaak Walton League finds sampling benthic aquatic macroinvertebrates to be an accurate indicator of stream health – one that any citizen scientist can tackle. Much as foresters judge a forest by its diversity of trees, we judge streams by the diversity of life within it. Full story

The last thing on my mind during February's unseasonably warm days was road salt – that is, until the League launched our Winter Salt Watch. It turns out that the threat to water quality from excess road salt is highest after the weather warms up! Full story

Rivers were a source of water, habitat, and transportation during the country’s beginnings, but expanding populations and land use decisions caused harmed. But that was in the past, and times are beginning to change. Full story

The Clean Water Challenge is more than a single event – it is a campaign to connect with community partners, cultivate new relationships, and strengthen our national network of community scientists and advocates. Full story