Road Salt is Polluting Fresh Water

Salt keeps us safe on icy roads — but it’s also quietly harming waterways.

IT’S TIME TO

Since 1967, Stroud Water Research Center has focused on one thing — fresh water.
We advance knowledge and stewardship of freshwater systems through global research, education, and watershed restoration.

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Latest News

A small stream meanders through a Pennsylvania forest.

Small Streams Hold the Key to Healthy Rivers

New state water quality report confirms Stroud Center science: restoring healthy rivers demands upstream focus.

Publication title with image of a mayfly

Distinct changes in riparian sediment microbial communities with depth and time since dam removal

Moore, E.R., M.M. Rahman, J.G. Galella, M. Sena, B. Joshi, A. Yaculak, M. Peipoch, J. Kan, and S. Inamdar. 2026. Nature Scientific Reports, early online access.

Project TRUE interns sample macroinvertebrates and small fish from an eel mop.

F(eel)ing Buggy: Project TRUE Interns Survey the Bronx River

The interns used kicknets, eel mops, and the iNaturalist community science app to find and identify macroinvertebrates, and even small fish.

Road salt impacts on soil properties and permanent nitrogen removal capacity of freshwater urban wetlands

Rahman, M.M., M. Peipoch, J. Kan, E. Moore, M. Sena, M. Kantak, S. Sharma, C. Lekha, and S.P. Inamdar. 2026. Wetlands 46, 14.

Freshwater salinization syndrome is degrading streamwater quality in the National Capital Region national parks, USA

Myers, D.T., D. Oviedo-Vargas, S. Ensign, M. Daniels, J.P. Schmit, M. Peipoch, and J. Kan. 2025. Freshwater Science, early online access.

A scientist measures chlorophyll in a stream using a field fluorometer.

When Local News and Science Go Dark, the River Loses Its Voice

Supporting local journalism and local science is not charity. It is an investment in the data, transparency, and accountability that keep fresh water safe.

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Featured Initiatives and Partnerships

WikiWatershed® web tools offer watershed data visualization, geospatial analysis capabilities, and science-based predictions of human impacts on stormwater runoff and water quality.

The Water Quality mobile app is a water-monitoring data-collection and learning tool designed for use by educators and their students, citizen scientists, and researchers.

EnviroDIY™ is a community where members ask and answer questions and network within interest groups to develop do-it-yourself environmental science and monitoring devices.

The Society for Freshwater Science Taxonomic Certification Program ensures skilled persons are providing aquatic invertebrate identifications in North America.

The Leaf Pack Network® is an international network of teachers, students, and citizen monitors using a simple experiment to determine the health of their local streams.

The Consortium for Scientific Assistance to Watersheds provides free technical assistance to Pennsylvania-based watershed and conservation organizations.