If last week's weather is any indication that winter is finally upon us, then be wary because snow will be piling up any day now. For years, Wisconsin has used salt to keep our streets and highways safe. When salt hits ice, it causes a physical reaction that lowers the freezing point and causes the ice to melt so it is easier to plow.
Salt use comes with a hefty financial and environmental price tag. According to Roger Bannerman, a Department of Natural Resources water resources management specialist, "the potential for chloride to damage our water systems is more inevitable than climate change." Every year, essential bodies of water experience increasing levels of chloride. Lake Michigan, for example, has a rising chloride level every year of about 0.1 milligrams per liter due in large part to road salt. While this may not seem like much, it doesn't take a lot of chloride to cause long-term problems in fish such as reproductive failure and increased disease susceptibility.
Local waterways in Milwaukee are experiencing an increase of chloride levels by 2 milligrams per liter every year. This is discouraging because cities like Milwaukee and Madison have carefully monitored systems for controlling the amount of salt used during the winter months. Still, every year chloride levels rise.
Where is this excessive salt use coming from? If cities monitor the use of salt used for snow removal, why is more salt used every year? The answer is the private sector.
The city of Madison has been cutting salt use since the 1970s. However, there is no formal regulations of the amount of salt used on private parking lots. According to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, studies have shown that private parking lots may be receiving twice as much salt as is applied to city streets. All Madison salt trucks have computerized settings that limit the amount of salt poured per mile of roadway. However, private snow removal contractors salt roads with little monitoring at all.
What can we do to stop this dooming cycle? Bannerman believes we need to educate people on the negative impacts of salt. Wisconsin simply doesn't have the resources to be continually monitoring everyone's salt consumption. The only way to implement change is to put it in the hands of the citizens.
Until the public fully understands the gravity of the situation, there are other things Wisconsin can do to cut down on salt use.
The use of sand is another viable option. Sand provides cars with traction but it doesn't melt snow or ice. There are other problems when it comes to high traffic areas and potential damage to vehicles. However, sand is particularly useful in areas with relatively low traffic volumes and when it is too cold for de-icing agents to work. Increasing sand use in smaller towns should be something cities consider.
Another option is to test other de-icers. Currently there are very few other alternatives that are more attractive than salt in terms of environmental safety. Not to mention they are all much more expensive. However, further research and testing in this area could provide Wisconsin with a much-needed breakthrough and eventually lead to the next big de-icing agent.
Finally, managing where ice is dumped is extremely important. Wisconsin has already done away with dumping snow directly into waterways. Most cities have set up sites where snow can be dumped so that contaminants can be released gradually and safely. If any area doesn't already have this, they should implement them soon. It is very easy to do and makes all the difference to waterways.
This winter I implore citizens to be conscious of the amount of salt used on driveways and parking lots. We all know that neighborhood kids can be conned into plowing for less than a cup of coffee, so explore other options before dumping entire buckets of salt on the ground and keep our environment clean.
Nick Fritz is a junior majoring in marketing. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
