2026: VA SOS’s Biggest Spring Yet
Check out the results of the Spring 2026 VA SOS monitoring season, plus a leaderboard of the top sites, groups, and volunteers.
Meet a Monitor: Paityn and Mackenzie
By: Abby Hileman, Salt Watch Coordinator The Izaak Walton League of America has been working to conserve habitats for future generations since 1922. Over a century later, a new generation…
‘Buchanan trio earns Save Our Streams certification’
This article from Chad Cooper of The Virginia Mountaineer highlights a recent Virginia Save Our Streams (VA SOS) training held in Buchanan County, Virginia. The VA SOS monitor trainers certified…
What is in Store for Nitrate Pollution Awareness Week
When you pour a glass of water from the kitchen tap or watch a local stream ripple by, you assume it’s clean if it looks clear. But there is a…
Meet a Monitor: Butch Morris
Butch Morris, a member of the Fredericksburg-Rappahannock Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, started by teaching students about macroinvertebrates in the 70’s. Now he leads his chapter’s Save Our Streams monitoring.
‘Iowa’s Cancer Rate is Skyrocketing. Our Tests Prove Why.’
Concerned community members in Iowa are using the Izaak Walton League’s Nitrate Watch kits to track levels of cancer-causing nitrate in their drinking water. This video from More Perfect Union…
‘What’s beneath the surface: Tiny creek life shows impact of pollution in Chattanooga’
In this news segment, Mary Gillis reports on the Save Our Streams monitoring efforts of volunteers in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Learn how the trained volunteers are using chemical monitoring methods and…
‘View From My Window’
Mary Weaver shares her experience tagging along with volunteers in Greene County, Iowa as they tested water quality at 35 local streams, creeks, and rivers as part of the Izaak…
Deep budget cuts proposed; Congress must prioritize conservation
Each year, Congress decides how to fund federal departments, agencies and programs through the annual appropriations process. The federal budget is divided into twelve categories, including Interior and Environment, Energy…
Your kit will include a bottle containing 25 nitrate test strips which you can use to test your water source(s) throughout the year. You’ll also receive postcards explaining how to use your nitrate test strips and how to share your Nitrate Watch results on the Clean Water Hub.
Your kit will include four test strips so you can test your waterway throughout the season. You’ll also receive a chart to help you interpret your results and a postcard with instructions for completing a Salt Watch test and reporting your findings.