As Minnesotans reacquaint themselves with the winter chore of clearing sidewalks and driveways, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency urges people to remember smart salting practices.
Salt damages infrastructure and plants and is harmful to water. When the snow melts or it rains, salt runs into storm drains and into nearby lakes, rivers, and groundwater.
Too often, salt is over-applied, sending too much chloride into waterways and wreaking havoc on fish and other wildlife.
The MPCA offers these tips to reduce pollution:
•Shovel and scrape. The more snow and ice you remove manually, the less salt is needed to be effective. Plus, these tools can be used repeatedly year after year.
•Temperatures below 15 degrees are too cold for salt. Most salts stop working at this temperature. Use sand for traction instead, but remember that sand does not melt ice.
•Use the right amount. People often think using more salt means more melting and safer conditions, but this is not true.
Around 12 ounces — enough to fill a coffee mug — effectively treats a 20-foot driveway or 10 sidewalk squares (about 1,000 square feet). Aim to apply salt evenly and use only in critical areas. Using more than the recommended is simply a waste.
•Sweep up visible salt on dry surfaces. Leftover salt is no longer doing any work and will just be washed away into local waters. You can keep it to reuse later, saving you money. When the correct salt amount is used, there should not be any visible salt left behind.
There are many ways to provide safe winter conditions and minimize impacts to the environment. See pca.state.mn.
