Submitted by: District 5580 Environmental Committee
February Eco Challenge: Learn about Road Salt Pollution and Help to Reduce It
It’s definitely winter here in the Northland! Have you needed to use salt on your driveway? According to this article from the US Environmental Protection Agency, road salt can contaminate drinking water, kill or endanger wildlife, increase soil erosion and damage private and public property. But best practices and alternatives exist!
Additives such as biodegradable substances like beet juice, pickle juice and molasses can reduce the amount of salt needed by lowering the freezing point of water (and even making surfaces less slippery). A 2022 study by the University of Madison showed a 23% reduction in salt use when liquid brine (a simple mixture of salt and water) was adopted to clear the roads. Nonetheless, a 2022 research article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that water quality guidelines in North America and Europe are not enough to prevent dangerous levels of salinization that adversely affect the food chain. Here’s a good list of tips from the MN Pollution Control Agency to move us towards smarter salting techniques (like using only one coffee-cup of salt to cover ten sidewalk squares). Thanks for doing your part to limit salt use - our watersheds are depending on it.