From the Editor’s Desk

A balancing act: Using road salt responsibly while maintaining waters

Dear Readers:

Winter in the North Woods consists of snow-heaped pines and ice-covered expanses of lakes. But that same snow and ice ends up on our roadways, parking lots and sidewalks, which can be dangerous for those in vehicles and on foot. 

That’s where the use of a very important mineral comes in — salt.

Road salt is a must during winter months in northern Wisconsin in order to keep roadways ice-free and safe for travel. But in an area that relies heavily on its pristine waters and natural resources, using too much salt can disrupt important ecosystems and taint our lakes and rivers.

Studying the effects of chloride on waterbodies has been an undertaking by various conservation entities in the state, and what they’ve learned is that limiting use of this mineral is very important.

From a tourism standpoint, salination in our freshwaters is toxic to the walleye and muskie fry that drive our fishing economy by affecting their growth rates.  

Since the late 1950s, salt has been used as a deicer thanks to its low price point and effectiveness (as long as temperatures don’t dip below about 15 degrees). The problem is that once it’s laid down, it’s there, and it’s very hard to get rid of it.

Like most ecological strategies, it’s easier to prevent something than try to undo it after the fact. 

Wisconsin Salt Wise is a coalition of organizations from across Wisconsin working together to reduce salt pollution in our lakes, streams and drinking water. The coalition has been working to educate the public and instigate initiatives to keep salt use in check. 

Beyond the environmental impact, there is also a very real monetary cost involved. In addition to the steep price increases over the past decade to the salt itself, removing the contaminant is also an extremely expensive endeavor.

Salt Wise says once salt gets into water it is very difficult to remove. Treatment, like reverse osmosis or ion exchange, is costly to install and even more expensive to operate, costing millions or even billions of dollars.

Keeping excessive salt out of our aquatic ecosystems is something we need to be doing now, before greater impacts occur in our waterways.

So the next time it snows, consider the later effects of today’s actions. Instead of relying on salt, grab your shovel and head out to do some good old-fashioned manual labor. 

Snow melts, salt doesn’t.

Michelle Drew

Editor