Salt Management

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Groundwater aquifer in the winter

Salt is a major water quality concern. The salt spread on the ground does not go away. Eventually this salt mixes with groundwater; the water we drink.

Help keep salt out of groundwater

Snow and ice clearing tips for homeowners
Winter maintenance resources for businesses, multi-residential properties and service providers

When on the move:

Wear winter boots with a good tread. Consider adding ice grippers to shoes and boots for extra grip. The KITE Research Institute tests footwear for its effectiveness on reducing slip and falls and includes results on their Rate My Treads website.
Consider installing winter tires on your car, slow down and keep distance and give right-of-way to winter maintenance vehicles.
Plan and give yourself time to reach your destination.

Why salt is a water quality concern

Once salt is in the water, there is no easy fix to remove it. Current water and wastewater treatment does not remove salt from the water. Removing salt requires desalination which is extremely expensive and energy intensive, and greatly increases greenhouse gases. Including desalination as part of the treatment process would also result in much higher water costs for the community.

Chloride levels from salt are increasing in groundwater wells. The image below compares chloride levels in Region of Waterloo municipal groundwater wells between 1998 and 2018. The orange and red dots are groundwater wells with chloride levels near or exceeding the 250 mg/L limit.

The Ontario Drinking Water Objectives for chloride is 250 mg/L. This is when a salty taste may be detectable by some people. The Region of Waterloo must mix groundwater from different wells to lower the chloride levels.

Map showing chloride levels at Region of Waterloo municipal supply wells

What the Region of Waterloo is doing

On the roads
- I Am Groundwater blog "Balancing winter road safety with the environmental impacts of salt and ice melters" outlines actions to manage salt use on roads
- The Region of Waterloo Transportation Operations follows a comprehensive salt management plan
On our properties
- Only hire Smart About Salt certified contractors with salt management training
- Region of Waterloo winter maintenance staff receive Smart About Salt training
Through our water protection programs
- Monitor water quality of municipal drinking water sources
- Educate youth through school presentations and support of the Waterloo Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival
- Work with partners to improve salting practices including through Source Water Protecting Plan policies
- Support the Smart About Salt training and certification program

Educational resources

Literature

Infographic: Impacts of salt
Infographic: What to look for in a winter boot
Infographic: Snow clearing tips for residential properties
Infographic: Is your business winter-ready?
Think of groundwater before salting your property
Activity colouring sheet: Winter fun

Blog: I Am Groundwater

Research projects and studies

Do road salt reduction strategies improve groundwater quality? Results from a long-term study by the Region of Waterloo and City of Kitchener on how best management practices influence chloride levels at Greenbrook municipal drinking water wells. University of Waterloo Water Institute Research article.
Salination as a driver of eutrophication symptoms in an urban lake, University of Waterloo, Canada Centre for Inland Waters, City of Richmond Hill. Accelerating urban growth worldwide has been blamed for declining water quality of freshwater environments, including the eutrophication of lakes and other surface water bodies. Eutrophication can pose serious risks to drinking water sources and may ultimately cause the die-off of aquatic life. Eutrophication is generally assumed to be driven by the human-enhanced supply of phosphorus, but recent research out of the University of Waterloo found that at Lake Wilcox (a small lake in southern Ontario), eutrophication symptoms persisted even after external phosphorus inputs were reduced. So, what is causing this deterioration in water quality? Follow up article Time to Act: Road salts are stressing our urban lakes by Global Water Futures.
Snow and Ice Control for Parking Lots and Sidewalks, University of Waterloo. Addresses the common question winter maintenance contractors face each winter: what are the right snow and ice control methods, materials, and amounts of material that should be applied under specific winter weather conditions? Optimum Deicing and Anti-icing for Snow and Ice Control of Parking Lots and Sidewalks abstract and paper.
Evaluation of Organic Anti-icing Materials for Winter Maintenance, University of Waterloo. Evaluates and compares the capacity of three organic and semi-organic anti-icing liquids and conventional sodium chloride brine to improve pavement friction relative to an untreated control
Specifying Salt Management Best Practices in Parking Lot Winter Maintenance Contracts, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Provides guidance on how to develop parking lot snow and ice management contracts that encourage the use of best practices for salt management established by Environment Canada and other organizations such as the Transportation Association of Canada.
Friction and Parking Lots, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. Friction testing show us that bare pavement is safest, as it has the highest friction value, and that the over-application of salt does not translate to safer conditions. The takeaway from this is that if you achieve bare pavement in a reasonable amount of time with little to no residual salt, you applied the right amount.
Year-round monitoring of chloride releases from three zero-exfiltration permeable pavements and an asphalt parking lot, University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto. The study provided insights into the behaviour, retention and release of Cl− from traditional and permeable hardscape surfaces and possible avenues for Cl− attenuation, source control and aquatic habitat conservation.
Salty summertime streams—road salt contaminated watersheds and estimates of the proportion of impacted species, University of Toronto. University of Toronto article and Snow Magazine podcast.

In the news

CityNews Kitchener, November 23, 2023 (20:28): Excessive road salt use hurting our waterways, U of G researcher says
CTV News, April 2023: Honda recalls CR-Vs in cold states to fix frame rust problem
Water Canada, March 2023: Use road salt wisely, cautions U of G researcher
The Weather Network, January 2023: How road salt harms the environment and wildlife
Audubon Magazine, January 2023: As salt coats snowy roadways in winter, freshwater ecosystems pay a heavy price
CTV New Kitchener, December 2022: Excessive salt leads to environmental concerns
Cambridge Times, December 2022: Impacts of road salt on Cambridge drinking water raising concern
The Weather Network, December 2022: Why road salt isn't the best solution for removing snow and ice
Conservation Ontario: A salt responsibly story map
Water Canada, March 2022: Can we keep our freshwater fresh?
Water Canada, March 2022: Excessive chloride use assaulting lakes and rivers
Smithsonian Magazine, March 2022: Road Salt Pollution Levels Deemed Safe in U.S. and Canada May Not Protect Freshwater Ecosystems Enough
Orillia Matters, February 2022: Letter: New highway would add salt to the (freshwater) wound
EOS, February 2022: Lake Michigan's salinity is on the rise
Woolwich Observer, January 2022: Does the water taste salty to you?
The Kingston Whig Standard, January 2022: Life-saving road salt an environmental concern: Queen's professor
Waterloo Region Record, January 2022: Region's aquifers are getting saltier