Save Our Streams (SOS)
The Izaak Walton League’s Save Our Streams program is the only nationwide program training volunteers to protect waterways from pollution and bring information about water quality to their communities.
The program began in 1969, when water pollution problems were easy to see—like massive oil spills and burning rivers. Early Save Our Streams volunteers cleaned up trash from their local waterways and reported problems like streams becoming clogged with silt.
In the 1980s, the League recognized that with the right training, volunteers could collect scientifically valid data to assess water quality in local streams—a conviction that has proven true. Ever since, the League has been teaching volunteers to study stream health and report their findings to decision-makers.
The League has continued to develop programs and protocols that enable anyone to become a citizen scientist and collect valuable data about the health of their local stream.
Since 2005, our Chapter has been using the Save Our Streams testing protocol on Great Seneca Creek in Maryland. With help from Chapter members and volunteers, we sample the stream and collect the macroinvertebrates to monitor the health of the stream.