Road Salt

What is Road Salt?

When people hear the word “salt,” they usually think of table salt or “sodium,” but a salt is actually just a type of compound, and there are many different variations of “salt.”

“Road Salt” is used to refer to compounds that are used to lower the freezing point of water, making it harder for ice to form. The most commonly used road salts are chloride compounds - sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride.

Why should we be concerned about Road Salt?

Chloride is naturally found in the environment, but increasing levels of chloride from the over-use of road salts and de-icers is degrading our drinking water quality, damaging municipal infrastructure and personal property, and harming aquatic life.

The Cause

Between 1 and 100 parts per million is normal for fresh water bodies like those in and around Rose Valley. When “road salt,” or chloride-based de-icer, comes in contact with water, the individual ions (chloride and sodium, for example) separate from each other and add to the qualities that are naturally in our waterways.

1 teaspoon of road salt pollutes 5 gallons of water, and a 50 pound bag like those sold in stores pollutes an entire swimming pool.

It is almost impossible to remove this excess chloride from water once it’s present. It cannot be absorbed by plant life and typical water-treatment plants do not remove chloride from drinking water.

The Effect

High chloride levels make our drinking water unsafe. The EPA requires water suppliers to keep chloride levels below 250 ppm. Reverse osmosis is the only way to remove chloride, which is incredibly expensive, a cost that would most like be passed on to consumers.

Further, chloride is highly corrosive and can leach hard metals from our pipes, including lead. This was a factor in the water quality disaster in Flint Michigan.

As a corrosive agent, chloride also damages cars and infrastructure like bridges and drainage systems. It is estimated that each ton of road salt used in the US creates an average of $1,000 of damage to our infrastructure.

Chloride from road salts can dry out and kill vegetation on land, costing municipalities and tax-payers money on wasted landscaping and harming important habitats.

Excess chloride can kill the macroinvertabrates that are the foundation of our ecosystem, such as mayfly and dragonfly larvae, leaving other animals and insects without an important food source and leading to algae blooms that deplete waterways of oxygen.

High chloride levels also endanger larger aquatic organisms like fish and amphibians. A level of 230 ppm for a few days is toxic for many fresh water organisms, and some types of brook trout have been found to have a chloride tolerance as low as 3.1ppm.

What can we do about it?

The Izaak Walton League has compiled some great resources to help people reduce Chloride pollution. Click here (link to https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/salt-watch/what-you-can-do) for the full list, or read on for our suggestions.

At Home

Less is Best

The easiest, cheapest, and most effective way to curb pollution from Road Salt is to just use less.

More road salt does not mean more safety! You only need one 12 ounce mug full of road salt to treat a 20 foot driveway, 10 sidewalk squares, or two parking spaces. You should not feel the crunch of road salt under your feet.

Be patient - salt doesn’t work instantly.

Take common sense precautions - wear shoes with traction, drive slowly, etc…. We can’t expect to have perfect surfaces right after frozen weather.

Consider pre-wetting your road salt to help it work faster and stick to the ground, reducing scatter.

Get Ahead of It

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…almost literally!

Consider pre-treating your paved surfaces. It takes 4 to 8 times the amount of salt to de-ice as opposed to anti-icing.

Switch to permeable paving or pavers to prevent the standing water that causes ice.

Choose Wisely

Not all Road Salt is the same, and Road Salt isn’t always the best option.

There are many alternatives to the most commonly used road salt - sodium chloride. Learn more about these alternatives from the NH Dep’t of Environmental Services: https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/wmb-4.pdf

At lower temperatures, go for traction over melting with sand, non-chemical kitty litter, or bird seed.

Be careful of de-icing products that claim to be “eco-friendly.” If they contain chloride, they will still pollute.

Avoid products with urea or ash, as well as those with non-caking agents, as these can leech cyanide into a waterways.

Clean it Up!

No matter what material or how much you use, once the threat of ice has passed, sweep up the extra to keep it from getting into our storm systems and water ways.

Many materials, including Road Salt can be covered and stored for use before the next freeze.

Report any unprotected salt piles, excess salt mounds along roadways, and excess salt use to your township.

In Your Community

Spread the Word

Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors about the Road Salt best practices you have learned.
Put up a yard sign (template available under resources)

Help with Local Testing

If you are a Rose Valley Resident, contact the Rose Valley EAC to get involved with ongoing water quality testing.

You can request free chloride test strips from the Izaak Walton League of America by taking their salt pledge https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/salt-watch.