In the winter, salt helps to keep us safe—it lessens slips and falls and reduces vehicle crashes —but salts run off hard surfaces into the region’s streams, rivers, and reservoirs. The salinity affects aquatic life and our drinking water supply; both the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) have identified streams with related water quality impacts.
Winter Salt Impacts
- Rising salt levels in drinking water (including private wells and reservoirs), affect human health if levels get too high.
- Chloride can erode pipes, releasing metals into drinking water.
- High sodium levels can even affect those on low sodium diets (e.g., with heart disease, high blood pressure, or metabolic and renal disorders).
- Harmful to fish and other aquatic life in streams and lakes.
- Damages infrastructure: For example, corrodes vehicles, bridges, and pavement.
- Reducing the efficacy of stormwater nutrient removal.
- Harmful to trees and other vegetation.
- Irritating to pet's paws.
Be Effective and Efficient with Salt at Home – Shovel, Treat, Scatter, and Sweep
A Sampling of What Metropolitan Washington is Doing to be Winter Salt Smart
COG’s Community Engagement Campaign raises awareness about the proper use of winter salts and its impact on drinking water safety. Echo their messages and help to spread the word, using the hashtag #wintersaltsmart on social media.
COG partners with USGS, University of Maryland, and Virginia Tech’s Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Lab to monitor the salinity in regional water bodies and its impacts on other contaminants.
District of Columbia
- The District of Columbia trained its road crew on application rates based on forecasts and has equipped its department of public works with calibrated equipment and spreaders.
- The District Department of Energy and the Environment is piloting a calcium magnesium acetate product, a deicing alternative.
Maryland
- The Maryland State Highway Administration used brine as a cost-effective way to reduce sodium chloride on roads and highways, as part of the Maryland Salt Management Plan (2010, 2019).
- MDE monitors its waterways for chlorides and is developing a salt applicator training program.
- WSSC Water has been holding annual salt forums with research partners and Montgomery County and WSSC Water are partnering on” Be Salt Wise” public messaging (links below).
Virginia
- The Northern Virginia jurisdictions and utilities have worked with the Virginia Department of Transportation, non-profits, and other stakeholders to develop a Salt Management Strategy (SaMS) under the guidance of DEQ. The strategy is a guide for improving practices to more efficiently salt while maintaining public safety. The SaMS efforts is coordinated by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. Learn more about the SaMS Toolkit and outreach resources.
More Information on Winter Salt:
District Department of Energy and the Environment
Fairfax Water
Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB)
Loudoun Water
Maryland Department of the Environment
Maryland Department of the Environment Winter Salts Story Map
Maryland Department of Transportation SHA
Montgomery County
Virginia Department of Transportation
WSSC Water