Credit Valley Conversation Wants You to ‘Salt Responsibly’ | FM101 Orangeville Today

Winter has arrived.

It is the season of driving in the dark to and from work.

Cold, blowing, snowy days, shoveling snow until the piles are higher than an NBA basketball player and sensible winter gripping footwear is a must.

To help the public travel safely winter maintenance chemicals, predominantly sodium chloride often referred to simply as road salt, have been stocked up, and equipment has been calibrated.

The winter maintenance crews are out early preparing sidewalks, parking lots, local roads and highways for safe travelling by the public.

However, there are many impacts from the use of road salt and other winter maintenance chemicals.

They include damage to infrastructure and vehicles, impacts to the environment (land and water) and damages to vegetation and crops.

By ‘Salting Responsibly’ we can balance human safety on our roads, walkways and parking lots with keeping our environment and drinking water sources healthy.

The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority has made great efforts in researching and understanding the impacts of road salt from a watershed perspective.

They found that chloride concentrations are increasing in rivers, streams and within Lake Simcoe itself!