Hold the Salt
Rock salt for “at home” use.
Too much salt is not just a problem for our individual bodies.
It’s a problem for the greater ecological body of which we are a part. From local watersheds to wildlife and plants, road salt – typically used during the winter season to combat icy conditions – can affect ecosystems in detrimental ways.
Studies have observed connections between bird, fish and amphibian mortality and road salt intake. Increased salinization due to overuse of road salt affects everything from the most fundamental of food sources – zooplankton – to the fish and other wildlife that depend upon it within the food web. Road salt alters the reproduction of certain wildlife, changes the development of others, and likely has consequences that we have yet to learn.
Road salt (sodium chloride and its proxies) has penetrated our waterways to such an extent that many now have salt levels that go well beyond the threshold to maintain “fresh water” classification. They have become downright brackish. The National Great Rivers Research & Education Center, which monitors salt levels in our local waterways, notes that in 2018 over 470 miles of Illinois’ streams “were listed as ‘impaired’…due to chloride. This means that these streams do not meet water quality standards.”
Road salt works in several ways that can result in toxicity to living organisms, but the one that is most observed in our landscapes is the way in which it dehydrates the tissues of our garden’s turf and plants. Salt basically inhibits plants’ ability to absorb water, resulting in discoloration, stunted growth and – once the highest threshold of toxicity is reached – death.
We can take simple steps this winter season to reduce our contribution to this ecological challenge, improving the health of our communities and gardens as we do so:
Remove as much snow as possible before applying road salt.
Apply it only in highly trafficked areas.
Follow packaging instructions carefully. Do not oversalt.
Mix your salt with another abrasive or gritty material, such as cat litter or sand, to lessen the amount of salt used.
Resources:
Lake County Stormwater Management Commission & Lake County Health Department. 2015. “Road Salt Impacts.” Available at: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3045/LessSalt-Equals-Less-Money-Clean-Water-Safe-Conditions--Tips-forEffective-Road-Salting-PDF.
Rapp Learn, Joshua. 2017. “The Hidden Dangers of Road Salt.” Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/road-salt-can-disrupt-ecosystems-and-endanger-humans-180963393/.
The National Great Rivers Research & Education Center. No date. “Chloride Monitoring.” Available at: http://www.ngrrec.org/riverwatch/chloride-monitoring/.
Uhlenbrock, Kristan. 2018. “It’s Time for a Low Salt Diet.” National Wildlife Federation. Available at: https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2019/Dec-Jan/Conservation/Road-Salts.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2020. “Winter is Coming! And with it, tons of salt on our roads.” Available at: https://www.epa.gov/snep/winter-coming-and-it-tons-salt-our-roads.