Salt Management

Why salt is a water quality concern

• For drinking water, it’s all about the taste. The Ontario Drinking Water Objectives for chloride is 250mg/L. This is when a salty taste may be detectable by some people. De-icing salt including environmentally-friendly ice melter products contain chloride.
• 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. Currently, the Region of Waterloo must mix groundwater from different wells to lower the chloride levels.
• Current water and wastewater treatment does not remove salt from the water. Chloride is highly soluble. Once it dissolves in water there's really no effective way to remove it.  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.

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

Blog posts about salt management

• Is salt really that bad for water?
• The hidden costs of salt and ice melter you might not know about
• Six mistruths about salt
• What you need to know before purchasing salt or ice melter
• Five questions you should ask yourself before salting
• How to green your snow and ice clearing
• What to do with your leftover salt at the end of the season
• Five actions businesses can take to reduce slip and fall hazards
• Balancing winter road safety with the environmental impacts of salt and ice melters

Research projects and studies

• 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?

• 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.

• Salination as a driver of eutrophication symptoms in an urban lake, University of Waterloo, Canada Centre for Inland Waters, City of Richmond Hill. 

In the news

• 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
• CityNews Mike Farwell Show (radio), December 2022: Impact of road salt on Cambridge drinking water raising concern (begins at 1:26:32)
• 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
• University of Waterloo, Water Institute research: Do road salts trigger eutrophication?
• 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
• PCI, December 2021: Winter road salting has year-round consequences
• Environmental Defence blog, December 2021: Roads Salts Don’t Just Hurt Your Pet’s Paws: They’re Wreaking Havoc on Freshwater Sources
• The Hamilton Spectator, December 2021: The hidden cost of road salt
• CBC, August 2021: Here's why removing unused pavement creates a cleaner city
• Kitchener Today, August 2021: New plan will focus on protecting region's drinking water from impacts of development, climate change
• NSF, April 2021: Road salts are threatening world's freshwater supplies
• Water Canada, April 2021: Study Shows Winter Road Salt Poses Year-Round Threat to Aquatic Life
• CBC, March 2021: Road salt levels in some local creeks toxic to aquatic life, says riverkeeper
• University of Waterloo, February 2021: Sustainability Theme of the Month: Salt Management
• Kitchener Today, October 2020: Region to spend similar amount on road salt this winter
• Binghamton University News, February 2020: Road salt harmful to native amphibians, new research shows
• CBC News, January 2020: Salty dragonflies mean more mosquitoes, researchers find