In a saucepan over medium heat, add chopped pecans in a single layer to ensure even heating (note: you can toast nuts for pecan crunch topping here, too). Let nuts toast, while you stir or shake saucepan frequently to toast nuts without letting them burn. Toast for about 3-5 minutes, until nuts are darkening and are fragrant. If you're toasting pecan crunch topping nuts, too, be sure to remove ¼ cup of nuts and set aside to cool before next step.
Add water and sugar to saucepan with nuts and bring mixture to a boil.
Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, until mixture has thickened a bit.
Remove from heat and stir in salt if you used unsalted pecans. I recommend letting the syrup rest for about 30 minutes to let the pecan flavor continue to steep into the syrup. Then, strain the mixture into a bowl, leaving the nuts behind (I recommend saving them for snacking or topping ice cream with!).
Keep mixture in bowl or transfer into a mason jar and place in fridge to cool completely. Syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.