Izaak Walton League of America

You can make a difference in how salt is applied in your community and state!

There are a number of ways you can take action to protect your local streams while also making sure travelers are safe! Whether you change your own salting practices, talk to a neighbor, or write to your legislator, you’re helping to protect clean water in America.

Study up on salt

• Road Salt and Stream Health – A brief history of road salt, some stats on how much we use, how salt melts ice, and why salt hurts stream life.


• Road Salt: Way Too Much of a Good Thing – A longer read about road salt fact and fiction, and what some regions are doing to address the problem.


• Alternatives to Road Salts for Safe Winter Driving – One of our most popular blog posts ever! Next time someone asks you, "But what can we use instead of salt?", you'll be equipped with the answer.


• Salt in the Water: Action on the Ground – In this webinar, Dr. John Jackson of the Stroud Water Research Center and Kevin Roth of Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust explain how excessive salt affects stream life and how one local community group is raising awareness and changing behavior.


• Salt Watch Kickoff: How Salt Impacts the Environment and What You Can Do About It – The official start of Salt Watch Season 4 covered updates on this growing community science project, insights on how road salt impacts trees, and smarter methods to reduce salt use in the winter months.


• Potential Corrosivity in U.S. Rivers and Links to Elevated Lead in Drinking Water – Before Salt Watch even got started, we were talking about how road salt can damage pipes and cause toxic metals to be released into drinking water. Learn more about the connection in this webinar.


• Wisconsin Salt Wise – Want to know even more about salt? Our coalition partner has tons of information for individuals and professionals.

Salt smarter at home

• A good rule of thumb is to use 12 ounces of rock salt on 10 sidewalk squares or a 20-foot driveway. How much is 12 ounces? Use an old coffee mug as a salt scoop, and you’ve got it.


• You do not have to feel “the crunch” for salt to do its job. Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water so snow and ice can be more easily removed. Putting more salt on a surface does not make snow and ice melt faster or eliminate the need for plowing or shoveling.


• If the air temperature is below 15 degrees, sodium chloride won't work! Switch to sand or a different ice melter.


• Watch out for deicers labeled as "eco-friendly" or "pet-friendly"! Read the package more closely: If there is chloride in the product (sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, etc.), it is still a salt!

Talk to your neighbors and get the word out

• Write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper or other news outlet to educate your community about this issue. You can start with our sample letter and adapt it for your use. (Download the Word file.)


• Download our fliers to educate neighbors and business owners in your community about how they can reduce their salt usage while still staying safe in the winter.

Support smarter salting training and practices in your community

• Call your city or county department of environmental protection to report high chloride levels or large salt piles (either piles spilled on the road or uncovered piles awaiting future use).


• Share road salt best practices with your community managers and state agencies.


• Write to your state legislators in support of salt reduction and smarter salt use in your community. You can start with our sample letters – but feel free to personalize them to your own perspective!


• Maryland
• Find your legislators
• Sample letter
• Minnesota
• Find your legislators
• Sample letter
• Tell your city council / local property owners to use the model snow and ice policies and contracts with applicators from MPCA
• Pennsylvania
• Find your legislators
• Sample letter
• Virginia
• Find your legislators
• Sample letter
• Wisconsin
• Find your legislators
• Sample letter
• Tell your city council / local property owners to use the model snow and ice policies and contracts with applicators from WI Salt Wise
• Other states
• Sample letter