Excess salt on University Avenue by American University.
Watershed creeks are showing very high levels of chloride this month. After each winter storm, LFWA salt testing team has recorded chronic or acute levels of toxicity to aquatic life in four of our creeks. The Willett Branch which flows from downtown Bethesda and the Minnehaha Branch which runs along Goldsborough Road to Glen Echo have seen the highest levels, exceeding the 860 ppm acute toxicity levels by more than three times.
Salt in the creek comes from road salt that is used to make sidewalks, roadways and other surfaces safe for walking and driving. It works by lowering the freezing temperature, so the ice melts even though it’s below freezing. It ends up in the creek because snowmelt creates runoff that travels through drains, which dump directly into the creek. Fresh water aquatic life has a very low tolerance for chloride. Just a teaspoon of salt pollutes 5 gallons of water. And it effects plant life too. Cars on the roads splash the salt water onto trees, shrubs, and soil, causing disruption to water uptake in roadside plants and throws off the balance of nutrients in the plants.
Snow flakes indicate when there was a snow storm (or predicted storm that prompted salting). LFWA tests two or three days post storms as well as gathers baseline data the third weekend of every month.
How chloride pollution effects Us
Drinking water — Our drinking water comes from the Potomac River. WSSC closely monitors the salt levels and have found that it has been steadily rising. Because there is no economically feasible way to remove salt during filtration, higher levels end up in the drinking water. It’s not a health concern for most people at this time, but for people on restricted salt diets, it could become a problem.
Fish and aquatic organisms — At low levels (chronic toxicity), chloride can negatively affect aquatic life structure, diversity and productivity. High amounts of chloride (acute toxicity) almost immediately kills fish, aquatic organisms and amphibians. btw, creeks naturally have a low level of chloride. Below 100 ppm is considered “normal” in our area.
Plants — Chloride in streams, lakes and wetlands harms aquatic vegetation and can change the plant community structure. Salt can also kill plants and trees along the roadside.
Soil — Salt-laden soil loses its ability to retain water and store nutrients and is more prone to erosion and sediment runoff.
Pets — Salt can sicken pets that eat it, lick it off their paws or drink salty snow melt/runoff. It can also irritate their paws. Dog walkers have noticed that their dogs are especially reluctant to walk on heavily salted sidewalks.
Wildlife — Some birds, like finches and house sparrows, can die from ingesting deicing salt.
Infrastructure — Chloride corrodes road surfaces and bridges and damages reinforcing rods, increasing maintenance and repair costs.
Be salt wise!
Everyone wants to keep sidewalks and road ways safe, but too much salt doesn’t make the ice go away faster or keep it safer.
A sprinkle will do: It’s one area where more is NOT better. Twelve ounces of road salt - a coffee cup full - will treat a twenty foot driveway. A 20 pound bag of salt is enough for a whole street of driveways.
Sweep up excess salt and reuse: After a storm, the best way to keep excess salt out of the waterways is to sweep it up. You can save it for the next storm.
report salt spills
Road salt causes pollution and should be treated like any other polluting material. Montgomery County especially asks that people call 311 to report spills. They will come and clean it up. If they don’t contact your elected officials and remind them of the County’s commitment. DC, MD State Highways and Montgomery Parks also have reporting numbers.
Report spills in Montgomery County to 311 or online at https://www3.montgomerycountymd.gov/311/SolutionView.aspx...;
Spills in Montgomery Parks are reported by calling Parks Customer Services at (301) 495-2595 or submit a report online at https://mocoparks.org/48vP974.
Spills on State Highways can be reported to 1-800-543-2515
If no one comes out to clean up, follow up with another call or email.
thank you to our salt watch team
LFWA salt watch team has 20 trained citizen scientists of all ages to take baseline readings every month and more readings if there is a snow event (or salting in anticipation of a storm that never happens). Woody Stanley crunches the numbers for us. And the data shared in the Clean Water Hub, a national data base for tracking water pollution created by the Izaak Walton Salt Watch program. Izaak Walton Salt Watch program also provide us with LO reading test strips and other supplies necessary for our salt testing program.
To learn more about our team and see the most recent data, visit HERE.
December 2024: Salt Watch Kick-off meeting.