City Commitee on the Environment Urges Reduction in Road Salt

Every summer Madison residents lament the ongoing decline in the quality of our lakes, but our winter habits are a significant contributor. Now that spring has arrived, all the road salt that accumulated on streets and sidewalks has magically disappeared - seeping into groundwater and washing into the lakes with the snowmelt. Chloride levels continue to rise in Madison's lakes and two drinking water wells have elevated levels of chlorides, according to a recent Dane County-Madison Public Health Department report on the environmental impacts of road salt (link to report). High chloride levels in drinking water can have detrimental impacts on health, especially for people on low sodium diets. In our lakes, chlorides poison fish and other aquatic life. As early as 1972, the City of Madison's Committee on the Environment promoted reduced road salt use to protect drinking water and the lakes when it helped to pass the City's Salt Reduction Resolution. The Madison Streets Division has continuously worked to reduce salt use through innovative application techniques and materials. Despite these efforts, the overall level of road salt use and chloride levels in lakes and wells continue to rise. This is due in part to the State's "bare pavement" policy for state roads, coupled with higher levels of salt use by other municipalities and private plowing companies in the watershed. The Committee on the Environment is concerned that this persistent rise in chloride levels is not sustainable, a concern echoed by the Dane County-Madison Public Health Department. In addition to the environmental impacts of increased salt use, taxpayer's pocketbooks will also be affected if new wells are needed to replace those with unsafe chloride levels. The Madison Water Utility estimate for the cost of installing a new municipal well is $3.25 million - a cost that would be born by all of us. "We live in Wisconsin where it snows several months a year, and not all that long ago we routinely put on snow tires and slowed down. When did we all come to expect bare pavement in winter?" asks Lori Grant, Chair of the Committee on the Environment. The Committee commends the Madison Streets Division for their consistent efforts to reduce salt use without sacrificing the safety of area drivers, asks the Dane County Lakes and Watershed Commission to take action to reduce countywide salt use, and challenges the State and local municipalities to harmonize their salt use policies with Madison's before the snow flies again.