January 2021

Reduce your use of road salt this winter 

 
Tips to meet the challenge:
 
1) Understand how salt works to melt ice:  
  • Salt lowers the melting temperature of ice.  Without salt it must be 32 degrees F. for ice to melt.  With salt, ice melts in temperatures as low as 15 degrees F. 
  • This means that at temperatures below 15 degrees salt is ineffectual!  Sprinkling on more salt won't help remove ice.   
2) Be timely in your snow removal: 
  • Shovel or snow blow to remove as much snow from the pavement as possible as soon as snowing has stopped. 
  • Snow removal will expose the ice patches for more precise salt application. 
  • It will also expose the ice for more melting by mother nature. 
  • And finally it will also help ensure that the snow itself will not melt and then refreeze on the pavement adding to the amount of ice to remove. 
3) Use less salt when applying: 
  • Less is actually more when applying salt.  Clumps of salt will not melt ice faster. 
  • Scattering the salt with plenty of space between granuals is the most effecient and effective use. 
  • The amount of salt that can be put in a coffee cup will effectively remove ice from a 120ft driveway or 10 sidewalk squares.     
4) Sweep up remaining salt: 
  • When the salt you've put down has done its job, sweep up the excess and save it for the next time you need it.  Leaving the excess salt on the pavement will ensure that it is washed into your yard or the storm drains, which is exactly what we are trying to prevent.     
5) Try a salt alternative: 
  • The EPA provides a list of deicers that don't contain chloride - the primary pollutant concern of road salt.  However, all deicers are pollutants and can harm our environment. 
  • You can DIY a very effective ice melt using water, dish soap and rubbing alcohol.  Get the recipe and application instructions here.  
6) Advocate that your HOA or property manager uses a certified "smart salter"  for snow removal 
  • The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency provides training to individuals and organizations for smart salt application and maintains a list of certified snow removers.  
 
This challenge originated from our December 2020 meeting where MWMO talked about threats to our urban watershed, actions they are taking as an organization to protect it and actions that every day citizens can take.
 
Once chloride gets into water there is no practical way to remove it.  It takes 1 teaspoon of salt to permanently contaminate 5 gallons of water.  The chloride from our road salt leaches into the ground (including your yard) which affects vegetation, insects that pollinate and feed on that vegetation, and the ground water.  It is estimated that 30% of the shallow wells in the Twin Cities have chloride concentrations that are above recommendations for drinking water.  The run off also makes its way through the urban watershed to the Mississippi.  Friends of the Mississippi has shown that chloride has increased 81% in the Mississippi over the last few decades.  40 metro area lakes are deemed impaired due to excess chloride.  
 
By participating in the Rotary EcoClub EcoChallenge for January 2021, you'll reduce your residential use of rock salt or advocate for your property management to use smart salting practices.  You'll reduce the amount of salt leached into your yard and surrounding soil, ensuring a healthier environment for plants, insects, and animals.  You'll keep the permanent pollutant, chloride, out of Minnesota's ground and surface water, helping to protect one of our greatest natural resources.  
 
Share your progress - the hurdles and the success - with Rotary EcoClub and your family and friends!