Did you know that Minnesota is over-salting our roads and sidewalks? Learn more with the City of Minneapolis educational program, the Salt Mini-Course.
Winter road and sidewalk de-icing salt can be hazardous to our safety and our environment. Safety is the priority when applying de-icers, and over application of salt is less effective. More salt does not mean more melting! Take the pledge to salt smartly at Salt Mini-Course on the City of Minneapolis website. It is self-guided with brief readings and videos. Residents and businesses can learn about the consequences of over salting, and what we can do to help protect our beloved Minnesota waters from the permanent pollutant of Chloride salt. Will you join us in doing your part to keep our communities safe and clean?
Chloride, a main component of salt, is a permanent pollutant and toxic to wildlife. When snow and ice melt, the de-icing salt is discharged with it into storm drains, then into our lakes, groundwater and rivers. Salt does not breakdown over time, permanently polluting our waterways. We must act now to protect the land of 10,000 lakes. Less is more when it comes to applying salt. You’ve likely noticed the unfortunate sight of large clumps of salt on bare pavement in the winter. Excess salt is a nuisance, damaging our shoes, vehicles and buildings. The excess salt sitting on the pavement does not further help with melting and is damaging to our waterbodies. We’ve all seen it and now it’s time to address the problem head on.
Remember these 4 steps during our next snowfall: shovel and scrape before snow compacts, select the correct de-icer, scatter salt only where critical, and sweep up and reuse leftover salt.
If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to Léa at [email protected]
Check out the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency webpages on Chloride (salt) for more information.
Links:
Mini-Course www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/programs-initiatives/environmental-programs/salt/
MPCA https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/chloride-salts
