OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — An effort to collect information and promote environmental awareness is taking to the waters in Oshkosh.
Volunteers will paddle a section of the Fox River, testing for levels of salt.
Beneath the waters lurks what some scientists call an aquatic concern–chloride pollution, or salt.
“The organisms in fresh water are not adapted to high salt levels, so it actually affects the diffusion of water through their skin, and some organisms can handle it a lot better than others,” said Shannon Davis-Foust, UW-Oshkosh Biology and Environmental Studies Program Lecturer .
Davis-Foust says salt can kill, and disrupt the food chain.
“The smaller organisms are going to be directly affected by the salt. And if they’re there, then the larger organisms don’t have anything to eat,” she said.
Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance volunteers say a salt paddle kayaking event Tuesday is designed to help.
“The volunteers will be collecting a water sample that they will come back onto land, and and test for chlorides. The biggest source for chlorides in our waterways comes from de-icing salt, applied to our parking lots, our sidewalks, and our roadways,” said Kelly Reyer, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance Volunteer.
“This far north, in the northern hemisphere, it really is a necessary part of getting through the winter,” said James Rabe, Oshkosh Public Works Department Director.
Rabe says crews use salt, and a salt-brine mixture to treat the 270 miles of roads in the city. He says salt is generally effective above 15 degrees, so trucks use pavement sensors to monitor conditions and adjust road treatments accordingly.
“When it’s too cold for salt to work, you might as well just back the truck right up to the lake, and dump it, and we’re not going to do that. We don’t want to do that,” said Rabe.
Rabe says the water testing event should help spread the word about salt. Organizers say they would like sampling to continue.
“We’re hoping they’ll sign up to become volunteers, and monitor streams in our watershed. This data is then shared with local elected officials as well as our public works community members,” said Reyer.
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