NJ Salt Watch Volunteer Registration

NJ Salt Watch empowers community scientists like you to learn more about the impacts of winter salting on freshwaters in your region. Since our program launched in 2020, we have collected about 5,000 chloride measurements across the state. With your help, we can continue to explore the extent to which winter salt affects freshwater salinization and how municipalities and other property managers can reduce their salt inputs to safeguard healthy waterbodies and safe drinking water.

How It Works:

1. Use this form to register to participate in NJ Salt Watch. If you request your kit by mail, you will receive it within a few weeks. Request one kit for each waterbody site. The number of test strips per kit corresponds to the number of times you plan to return to the site.
2. Select a freshwater stream, river, pond, or lake in New Jersey where you can safely access the water and have permission to access the property.
3. Collect and test a water sample for chloride and report data through the NJ Salt Watch online form. Each site visit is usually less than 10 minutes. View NJ Salt Watch kit instructions.
4. Return to the same location(s) to use up your test strips before the end of April/May.

Save the Date for our Fall Salt Snapshot:

Please visit your NJ Salt Watch sites anytime between Thursday, October 15 to Sunday, October 18 to collect a baseline chloride measurement before the winter season begins! We're partnering with the Stroud Water Research Center to coordinate a large-scale monitoring event to compare baseline chloride readings across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

Learn more: About NJ Salt Watch