Road salt can impact North Shore waters as snow and ice roll in ahead of the holidays

With the arrival of winter weather come warnings to avoid using too much of a good thing to maintain snowy roadways, sidewalks and parking lots.

Statewide, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says salt is commonly over-applied, sending too much chloride into our waterways and wreaking havoc for fish and other wildlife.

Minnesotans can do their part this winter with a “less is better” strategy for salting surfaces and by using other tools to get the job done, according to the MPCA

An estimated 445,000 tons of chloride-containing salt is used across Minnesota each year. Not only does salt damage our infrastructure, but it harms the environment. Chloride in salt ends up in our surface water, lakes, rivers and streams, according to Brooke Asleson, a chloride specialist with the MPCA. The salt is toxic to the state’s freshwater fish and other aquatic life.

As a major snowstorm settled along the North Shore in mid-December, WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Asleson about the use of road salt in Cook County and around the state. Audio below.

Joe Friedrichs December 14, 2022