GreenTown is happening in Joliet on October 26th: https://www.greentownconference.com/ ISAWWA Water Efficiency Committee is hosting a half day seminar (for Edu credit) on the latest in Water Loss Control – will include an update from IDNR as well as case studies and a panel discussion from location communities and how they are tackling their non-revenue… Read more »

Manufacturing requires mineral free water in various stages the production process.  Many industrial areas are able to dispose of the brine from softening water in to the sewer systems. These levels of salinated water discharge are poised to be restricted due to their irreversible environmental damaging properties.  Water Tech Online states ” The produced brine has… Read more »

Congratulations to the National APWA Excellence in Snow & Ice Award Winner The Village of Buffalo Grove! The newsletter details what and how they achieved such an industry prestigious award. “After their annual review, the Village of Buffalo Grove Public Works Department revised their winter maintenance plan for 2014 – 2015 to achieve the highest… Read more »

This presentation created by Carolyn Dindorf-Fortin Consulting, Inc. for the Road Salt Symposium 2015, details the REAL cost of road salt usage for snow and ice control. The study adds up all the possible secondary costs of salt and the damage it may cause. For every ton of salt applied to city roads, it can cost… Read more »

May 1st the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District or Greater Chicago will be hosting a Chlorides Workshop. They will be discussing best management practices, brine application and brine making. Join other municipalities in taking action to reduce chloride pollution. WHEN: Tuesday, May 1, 2018 – 9:00am to 11:30am WHERE: Egan WRP, 550 S. Meacham Rd., Schaumburg,… Read more »

While some negative impacts of over salting roads, like damaged vegetation, can be seen as soon as Spring arrives, other terrible effects are hidden below the surface. For example, elevated levels of salt in residential wells and water supplies. Even while using the federal standard application rate of ~300lbs per lane mile, the highly saline… Read more »

Even for small sites, over salting and inefficient maintenance can release chloride pollution in to the watershed you depend on for clean drinking water and a healthy ecosystem. This video highlights Winter Maintenance on small sites brought to you by: The University of Minnesota, Mississippi WMO, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

The awareness of chloride contamination in our natural waterways is growing exponentially! Unfortunately so are the amounts of chlorides in our waterways. Extrapolating that finding for all of North America, at least 7,770 lakes are at risk of elevated salt levels — a likely underestimate, the researchers said. We need a grassroots movement to educate… Read more »

There is no denying the urban sprawl in America is spreading. Researchers found startling data in freshwater lakes of the Northern United Sates. Too many chlorides in salt can do damage to many areas of life, from killing off plants and trees or stunting reproduction of beneficial animal to environmental catastrophes like Flint, Michigan. Researchers… Read more »

For over 70 years, we have used sodium chloride(rock salt) to manage ice on roadways. 70 years ago there were only 32,000,000 vehicles on the roadways compared to over 250,000,000 today, an 800% increase. Needless to say, keeping driving surfaces clean has become 10 fold the job as it use to. Chloride emissions have also… Read more »

Snow and Ice management costs money to keep your patrons, residents and clients properties safe. Aside from the costs associated with ice melt and snow removal there are hidden costs. One potential big expense we see often is vegetation damage from salt, ice melt applications and snow melt runoff. There are procedures you can follow… Read more »

Packaged ice melt generally has a “works to” temperature written on the bag. While bulk salt doesn’t have a label, anyone in the industry knows that bulk rock salt will melt to, at best, +5°F. Do you need the same amount of salt per area to melt ice at +25°F that you would for +5°F?… Read more »

All of us want to purchase ice melt products at the lowest price, but unfortunately our “saving” mentality is lost as soon as the first snow falls.  Accounting is not for all of us, but for those of you that own snow removal businesses or are responsible for your division’s budget or profit & loss,… Read more »

1 Acre = 43,560 sq ft 1 Lane Mile = 63,360 sq ft 1 Lane Mile = 12ft x 5,280 ft 1 Cup of Rock Salt = 0.6 lbs 1 Ton = 2,000 lbs

Salting parking lots is the most profitable aspect of snow management. Getting the most melting out of your salt while having less over-salting, will increase profitability and will reduce harmful chloride emissions.  There are ways to reduce contractor created hazards that require extra salting and labor. We have compiled data from the most in depth… Read more »

By the time salt is spread on roads, it can already be millions of years old. Thankfully for motorists and snow removal companies, intact salt never loses its ability to melt ice, which means salt does not have to be used immediately. Salt that has been stored is just as effective as the salt that… Read more »

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Fortin Consulting, Inc., and University of Minnesota, among numerous other contributors have compiled a huge amount of research outlining the most effective ways to maintain parking lots and sidewalks in the winter. Also, the manual shares numerous environmental impact reduction tips AND cost-saving tips. The most impactful parts of the… Read more »

This study is authored by Scott Koefod, Ph.D. Cargill Deicing Technology, June 22, 2012, Titled “Ice Melters and the Environment”. The topics covered are as follows; Introduction to the basics of environmental impact, Overview of the environmental effects of the common deicers and additives, Strategies to minimize environmental impact, New developments in deicer research. This was… Read more »