Conservationists are urging people to re-think their salt usage during bad weather.
With a forecast calling for a chance of snow and freezing rain Thursday, Missouri Department of Conservation is asking residents to carefully use salt to melt ice and snow on driveways, parking lots and walkways.
"Applying salt sparingly, and only when needed, can prevent harm to aquatic life from high chloride levels," according to MDC. "Just one teaspoon of sodium chloride, commonly known as salt, can make five gallons of water uninhabitable for most freshwater species."
Streams and lakes in urban areas hold aquatic life like small fish, insects and amphibians while sport fish are found in larger bodies of water.