De-icing

Unfortunately, road salt contains high levels of chloride, which is toxic to marine life and corrosive to pipes. Road salt is one of the main sources of chloride contamination, as the salt-rich runoff seeps into lakes and waterways. Lake Champlain is an important lake to keep free of contaminants since it provides drinking water for Vermonters and is home to diverse marine animals and plants.

The easiest way to protect Vermont’s waters and wildlife is to reduce excessive road salt use. Luckily, Vermont has incredible management of its salt use and storage and chloride monitoring practices. So, what can individuals do? Here are some simple tips to reduce your salt use:

— Make sure to shovel off snow and avoid using salt to melt the snow.

— If the sun is out, let it do some of the melting work and then apply salt.

— If it is extremely cold (below 10-15ºF), the salt won’t work well. A good alternative is using something with grit, such as cat litter or gravel.

— Applying thin layers not only allows the salt to work better but reduces the amount that could seep into waterways.

August Schnell

North Bennington