Less Salty 2026: Winter Home Snow Removal Toolkit

Happy Winter Salt Week 2026! 

We are excited to bring you unique content from local experts each day with statewide live webinars at 12:30 p.m. on YouTube all week long. 

Less Salty 2026: with Phil Gaebler

Our focus with Less Salty with Phil Gaebler is to help property owners learn how to minimize salt use, know when to use salt and how, plus making sure companies you hire, neighbors and community know about responsible salt use in the City of Madison. 

Phil Gaebler is a stormwater engineer with decades of experience in the environmental engineering world. He works for the City of Madison Engineering Division and kickstarted the City with Wisconsin SaltWise with the inception of the now-statewide group. He’s also tasked with completing in-house training for all City salt crews on salt calibration, salt use and more, which helps inform City leaders make decisions on salt use implications, citations, use on roads, sidewalks and more. 

Today's Topic: Winter Snow Removal Kit

Salt impacts so much! But the first step after a snowstorm, (or before if you’re proactive!), is to put together your snow removal tool kit at home. You should also be familiar with each tool and know what type of snow removal is necessary depending on the type of snow event. If you’re not sure, watch this video with Phil and get your winter snow removal kit assembled before the next snow event! 

Statewide Livestream Today! 

While we’ll be sharing a new episode of Less Salty each day this week, don’t miss out on the livestreams over the lunch hour each day with national salt experts sharing their expertise and experiences that have proved successful in their communities.

Today’s topic: Freshwater Salinization

The free webinar starts at 12:30 p.m., central time, and it’ll be streaming live on YouTube here: 

Get the big-picture view of freshwater salinization and why it’s emerging as a critical water-quality challenge across the country. We’ll break down the major drivers, the ecological and infrastructure impacts, and the trends scientists are tracking in rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Then we’ll zoom in on a real-world case study from the Occoquan Reservoir, where researchers and managers are grappling with the complex mix of land use, weather patterns, and human behavior that fuels rising chloride levels. This case will illustrate both the challenges and the practical management strategies communities can use to protect their drinking water supplies.

Presenters: Dr. Stanley Grant and Dr. Megan Rippy, Virginia Tech