Salt Management
Think of groundwater before salting
Salt is a major water quality concern. The salt we spread on the ground does not go away. It stays in the environment damaging soil, waterways and groundwater, our community's drinking water.
When everyone uses a little less, together we can make a difference.
- 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.
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What the Region of Waterloo is doing |
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Educational resources |
Literature
Blog: I Am Groundwater
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Research projects and studies |
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In the news |
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