Road salt can have lasting impact on fresh water. Here's how to use less and stay safe.
All Wisconsinites know the feeling: It's cold, it's been snowing, you step outside to collect your mail or take your dog for a walk and you hit an icy patch. Next thing you know, you're on the ground, looking up.
That's why so many of us keep a bucket of salt in the garage, and throw the crystals on the ice, hoping to make the slipperiness disappear.
But lots of de-icing salt washing into the state's rivers, lakes and streams can have hazardous consequences. High chloride levels in freshwater can be toxic to aquatic life, increase the potential for harmful algal blooms, disrupt the ecosystem of a river or lake and seep into groundwater, which can corrode pipes and other infrastructure.
In other words, that handful of extra salt you're throwing onto the sidewalk could eventually, in a different form, damage a fish in a nearby river.
Chloride levels are rising at all 43 river sites where the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conducts long-term monitoring, according to an internal report from the agency, some seeing increases of more than 10% annually. And Lake Michigan is estimated to be almost eight times saltier than it was in the 1800s.
While some salt use is likely always going to be necessary in cold-weather states like ours, the good news is there are steps you can take to reduce your use at home while still staying safe from slips and falls. Here are five of them.
Use less salt
This one may sound obvious, but you may be putting down more salt than is actually needed to keep the areas outside your home safe.
A good rule of thumb: You only need one coffee mug's worth of salt to properly de-ice a 20-foot driveway or 10 sidewalk squares, according to Cheryl Nenn, who manages the water quality monitoring program for Milwaukee Riverkeeper.
If you can avoid laying it down in less-trafficked areas, like a portion of the driveway that no one typically walks on, that can help, too.
More:Road salt is washing into Wisconsin's major waterways, with alarming results
Sweep up the excess
If the snow and ice has melted and you can still see salt crystals dotting your driveway, head out with a broom or brush and sweep up the rest to use for later.
It'll keep them from being washed into sewers later on — and can help you better understand how much to apply next time.
Make your own brine solution
Many state and county facilities departments have cut back on salt use by turning to brining, in which salt is mixed with water and applied to roads before a snow event. The brine solution prevents a bond from forming between the ground and the snow or ice.
You can make your own brine by dissolving salt in warm water and applying the solution to surfaces with a watering can ahead of snowfall, according to tips from Wisconsin Salt Wise.
Keep up with shoveling
When it's possible, get out and shovel the snow in regular intervals as it is coming down to prevent it from turning into ice.
By removing as much of it as you can before it piles up, there'll be less need for salt to melt the underlying ice.
Try an alternative when it's too cold
Most people don't realize that standard road salt isn't effective if the pavement temperature is below 15 degrees, Nenn said. So if you're throwing it down when it's really cold out, it's probably not doing the job you want it to do.
Luckily, there are a few alternatives. Calcium chloride is effective down to -20 degrees and is less harmful to vegetation, according to Wisconsin Salt Wise. Sand, which increases the friction between a slippery surface and the person or vehicle moving over it, can also be used.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Driveway salt hurts water ways, but it's easy to use less, stay safe
