Help keep salt out of groundwater
Waterloo Region relies on groundwater for drinking water. Over time the salt we put on the ground can end up in our drinking water and cause it to taste salty.
Snow and ice clearing tips:
- Shovel or plow the snow as soon as you can before it packs down and turns to ice
- Break up ice with a steel ice chopper and then clear away ice with a shovel
- Add traction when needed with sand, grit or non-clumping kitty litter
- Do not use salt to melt snow. Salt is for ice only.
Click on image to download PDF version.
What to use instead of salt:
Sand doesn't melt the ice but can be used to provide traction or when it is too cold for salt to work.
If you want to melt the ice the product you use most likely contains salt. This includes most ice melters including products labelled pet, plant and environmentally friendly or 100% natural.
If salt is required:
- Choose a product with a smaller grain. It will spread more evenly, requires less salt and will work faster.
- Follow product directions for application rate and working temperature. Salt works best between 0 and -10 Celsius. When colder, switch to sand for traction or an ice melter that works at colder temperatures.
- Sprinkle small amounts on icy areas only. In many cases, one or two tablespoons of salt for a one metre square area (about the size of a sidewalk slab) is all you need.
- Give salt time to work before clearing the ice. Even when you can't see it any more, salt is still hard at work melting the ice.
- Sweep up spilled and excess applied salt to save for another time. Salt does not expire.
I Am Groundwater blog posts 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
- The hidden costs of salt and ice melter you might now know about
- Six mistruths about salt
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