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Excess salt use a pollution concern

Ice melt
John Burton
/
WXPR
Ice melt

Salt used on roads and sidewalks stays in the environment.

The DNR and Wisconsin Salt Wise are trying to raise awareness about the concern.

Abby Hileman, Salt Watch Coordinator for the Izaak Walton League of America says often, people use way more salt than is needed.

“Salt needs space in order to work most effectively, so those salt granules should really be spaced out about three inches apart in order for them to be the most effective at melting,” said Hileman.

It doesn’t take much salt to cause problems.

“It only takes one teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water. The reason we’re using the words ‘permanently pollute’ here is there’s really no feasible way to remove salt from the environment once it enters the environment. It goes into our water, it goes into our groundwater, it goes into the soils,” said Hileman.

The DNR measures chloride levels in Wisconsin rivers over time.

Recent studies have shown a steep increase in chloride loads. In the early 2000s, the DNR measured about 600,000 tons of chlorides annually.

By 2018, that number increased to nearly 800,000 tons per year. Fifty rivers and streams and one lake in Wisconsin have been designated as impaired by high chloride concentrations, primarily from salt used during winter.

"All 43 of the long-term trend water quality monitoring sites across Wisconsin are showing increases in chlorides," said Shannon Haydin, DNR Storm Water Section Manager. "Chlorides persist in the environment forever and cause significant impacts to fish, aquatic life and human health. In Wisconsin we are seeing evidence of Fresh Water Salinization Syndrome which is a condition where our freshwater becomes more like ocean water in terms of its saltiness. Now is the time to make a change and reduce salt use when we can."

The DNR offered tips for people to reduce their salt use.

  • Shovel: Clear walkways and other areas before the snow turns to ice. The more snow removed manually, the less salt you will need and the more effective it will be.
  • Scatter: When using salt, scatter it so there is space between the grains. A 12-ounce coffee mug of salt is enough to treat an entire 20-foot driveway or 10 sidewalk squares. If you see oversalting, Wisconsin Salt Wise offers some simple steps to help educate others about salt.
  • Switch: Salt is much less effective when pavement temperatures drop below 15 degrees. Switch to sand for traction or a different ice melter that works at lower temperatures.

Highway departments are trying to reduce their use by using brine and prewetting road surfaces before a storm.

Still, Hileman says 20 to 30 million tons of road salt are used across the U.S. each year.

Winter salt awareness week is January 27th through the 31st.

For more information on the DNR’s efforts to monitor chlorides and reduce their effects, visit the DNR’s Salt and Storm Water webpage.

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