Road salt fouls environment

As significant snowfall makes its first appearance of the season, fleets of municipal and state trucks have begun spraying thousands of tons of salt on roads and streets across Indiana to make them safer for travel.

In the United States, interstate de-icing is the largest single use for salt, consuming up to 10 times the amount needed in food production.

Salt sprayed on roadways doesn’t just disappear when the snow and ice are gone — the salt is washed away, either into storm drains or through drainage ditches and ultimately into lakes and streams....

   ...more

Ken Notes: Alas IT WORKS. We need to work on balancing public safety with public and environmental health. This is not easy and any community that has banned salt will tell you just say no is not an option. Watch for brines, sand and gravel mixes, concrete cut solutions, and other options to help reduce salt. Also storm-water retention and filtering systems can help as well.