What’s White and Shows Up With the Snow?
Road Salt!

Each year when we all have to learn how to drive (and walk) on snow and ice all over again, we also have to live with road salt. Snow, ice, blizzards, white-outs, drifting snow and road salt and sand are facts of life in Northern Ontario’s winter.

The Friends of the Spanish River are also concerned about road salt and its impact on the Spanish River. To that end, we asked Douglas Craig, a Domtar Inc. Environmental Scientist, to produce a report on how road salt affects the Spanish River.

Doug’s report would indicate that all the hard work done by our local and provincial governments and snow removal contractors is paying off—especially with snow removal from our bridges.

Road Salt
It's use and impact on the Spanish River

The sight of snowplows and salt trucks is a common sight in Canada, especially so for the more northern regions such as Espanola and area. Large amounts of salt are spread onto the frozen, snow-covered highways and streets to keep drivers safe from sliding off the road.

While many citizens have concerns regarding the effects of salt on their vehicles, there is a growing number of people questioning the impact on our rivers and lakes. The focus of this newsletter is to touch on the chemistry of road-salt, explore the potential impact of road-salt on the Spanish River, and compare the concentrations measured in our river to other rivers.

While there are several types of road salt used on Canadian roads (calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and potassium chloride), the most common form of road salt is sodium chloride, simply a coarser form of common table salt. When dissolved in water, sodium chloride breaks down into sodium ions and chloride ions.

Elevated levels of sodium are generally considered more of an aesthetic issue (due to taste if used for drinking water), however there is currently debate on this issue due to the ion's link to the development of hypertension and hypernatraemia. A guideline of 200-mg/L sodium is generally accepted, however the European Economic Community has set their guideline at 20 mg/L.

According to the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN), high chloride levels can lead to the release of heavy metals into the water column from the sediments. Furthermore, GLIN states that up to 10% of aquatic organisms are 'harmed' by prolonged exposure to chloride concentrations greater than 222 mg/L

Simply knowing what concentrations are harmful is only half of the equation; the other half is relating that information to actual concentrations in the Spanish River. The chart below summarizes three years data collected by Domtar during their river surveys, and compares that to both the average lake/river concentrations, and those levels which are considered harmful.

Substance

Concern Limit

Major Rivers Range*

Spanish River

Sodium (Na)

200 mg/L

1.3-25 mg/L

14.9 mg/L

Chloride (Cl)

222 mg/L

0.6-25 mg/L

<10 mg/L

* Soil and Water Conservation Society of Metro Halifax

While there does not appear to be a persistent problem with salt in the Spanish River, it would be very difficult to determine the impact during the spring melt. However, even if one assumes the worst (much higher levels during the freshet), there does not appear to be any sustained impact.
By Douglas Craig

For regional road conditions this winter, contact the Ontario Ministry of Transportation hotline at 1-800-461-9523 (for Sudbury District) or log onto their website at http:www.mto.gov.on.ca./english/traveller/conditions/index.html.

Have a happy and safe Northern Ontario Winter!

Join the Friends of the Spanish River today and support the many partners working together to Restore, Preserve and Celebrate the Spanish River! Membership forms are on our website at www.FriendsOfTheSpanishRiver.ca or phone Bill Blight, Membership Chairman at 705-869-1324. Family memberships are only $10.00 per calendar year.