ROAD SALT

ROAD SALT. The chemical chloride can originate in natural sources even animal feces. Over time, it can accumulate in the ground and present a constant source of water pollution. A commonly applied substance to roadways and sidewalks in the winter to melt snow and ice, road salt can pose definite hazards to aquatic life. Beginning in 2019, students at the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE began sampling water from the Middle and South forks of CATFISH CREEK and Granger Creek six ties throughout the year. In November, 2020 students began measuring water samples in the BEE BRANCH along which an estimated live within its watershed.

When the city of Dubuque experienced its first snow melt at the end of February, 2021 chloride levels rose nearly 600 parts per million at multiple sites in the Bee Branch. At 230 parts per million over a sustained amount of time, water salinity is considered toxic to freshwater organisms. At 250 parts per million, the water begins to taste salty. Chloride at 860 parts per million is considered acutely toxic and can cause rapid die-offs of organisms.

In the hilly terrain of Dubuque, it is unrealistic to consider not using any salt. However, in its efforts to reduce the 5,000 tons of salt used annually for roads, the city has turned to spraying a 23% brine solution on roads in advance of storms. The solution uses less chloride and does not bounce off the road like salt.

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Source:

Goldstein, Bennet, "UD Research: Winter Road Salt Affecting Waterways," Telegraph Herald, March 17, 2021, p. 7B