Prepare for Winter Salt Week—January 26–30, 2026
Every winter, tons of salt are spread on roads, parking lots, and sidewalks to keep us safe. But once the snow melts, that salt doesn’t disappear—it washes into our lakes, streams, and groundwater. Rising salt levels corrode infrastructure, stress wildlife, and pose risks to our drinking water supplies.
Lake Champlain Sea Grant and UVM Extension are joining partners across the country to spotlight this growing challenge during Winter Salt Week, taking place January 26–30, 2026. The week is dedicated to helping communities understand the impacts of salt pollution and explore practical steps we can all take to protect freshwater.
At the national level, throughout the week, leading experts in environmental science, public works, engineering, and policy will share insights on smarter winter maintenance, community action, and innovative solutions already taking root. Whether you’re a resident, property manager, or simply curious about protecting local waters, there’s something for you. Daily at 1:30 ET, a series of free, live YouTube events will take place.
Locally, on Monday and Tuesday, January 26 and 27, 2026, Lake Champlain Sea Grant and UVM Extension will host an educational table that will be set up on the 4th floor of the University of Vermont Davis Center as an exhibit during the Lake Champlain Research conference. Information and resources will be available for individuals, businesses, and municipal staff to learn more about sustainable salting practices. People will be able to test local stream water samples to assess the saltiness of those streams.
In addition, students from UVM will be participating in monitoring to assess potential road salt impacts to a variety of local streams during Winter Salt Week. While at the stream sites, the students will measure conductivity levels of the water. Because road salt is often sodium chloride (just like table salt), the more salt there is in the water, the higher the electrical conductivity the water will have. High conductivity levels will alert students to possible high chloride concentrations caused by road salting. They will collect water samples they will later analyze in a laboratory to quantify chloride concentrations. They will share their results as part of a national snapshot of stream health during Winter Salt Week.
Individuals and businesses can also choose to sign a pledge to reduce the use of salt by adopting a variety of sustainable practices. People can sign the pledge at the exhibit at the UVM Davis Center, and it is also available online. Together, we can keep winter roads safe and our waters healthy.