Salting the roads to keep us safe during winter has long-lasting impacts on the environment. Listen up:
Plow down to the plow-truck. (US EPA)
Now that spring has arrived, salt-spreading plow trucks are a fading memory. But Todd Walter, director of the New York State Water Resources Institute, says salt that is washed off the roads stays in the soil for months.
“It gets back down to background levels again sometimes as late as October, so we’re really keeping the system juiced up for a long time,” he explains.
Rain washes salt out of the soil and into streams, rivers, and lakes where it harms crustaceans, amphibians, such as salamanders and frogs, fish, plants, and more. There’s even some concern that road salt might aid the spread of salt-tolerant invasive species.
But there’s a lot highway departments can do, like adding sand to the mixture to reduce the amount of salt used and still keep us safe.
Get schooled:
- Learn more about the increase in salinity levels in water basins in the Cornell Chronicle
- Check out all the impacts that road salt has on the environment with intel from Sustainable Stormwater
- Score more info about the effect road salt has on the environment from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
The fine print:
- This segment was produced in partnership with Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
