Get your town off the salt habit:

[hedgehog]

The use of road salt as a deicer on roads and other impervious surfaces is the preferred method to promote safe motor vehicle and pedestrian travel during winter months. The most commonly used deicing salt is sodium chloride (NaCl), which is readily available and inexpensive and effectively depresses the freezing point of water to melt ice. But what are the impacts of road-salt application to drinking-water supplies and watershed ecosystems?

.....


NRC (1991) examined calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) as an alternative to road salt in deicing operations. CMA solution is prepared by dissolving solid CMA in water. Optimal concentration in solution is 25%. NRC concluded that CMA is relatively harmless to plants and animals, noncorrosive to metals, and nondestructive to concrete and other highway materials. Because of its low density and small particle size, CMA may be dusty during handling and storage and may blow off roadways after spreading. When exposed to moisture, CMA can clog spreading equipment.
....


CMA and KA both appear to be viable road-salt alternatives. No significant health, environmental, or infrastructure impacts occur with the use of these alternatives. CMA is the most studied of all road-salt alternatives; more field studies should be performed using KA. Both products are preferable to road salt in the New York City drinking-water—supply watersheds, which supply drinking water to more than half of New York State’s population.

The biggest drawback to using CMA and KA is high cost. It will be a challenge to mandate or obtain buy-in from watershed communities to use these products at $500-$700/ton versus $30/ton for road salt. Perhaps some communities will recognize the cost savings to public health, the environment, and local infrastructure from using road-salt alternatives. At present, however, the most likely mechanism for introducing CMA and KA in the New York City drinking-water—supply watersheds is through legislative mandate.

http://www.newyorkwater.org/downloadedArticles/ENVIRONMENTANIMPACT.cfm



This article does not address the cost of spreading road salt. The actual cost is Road salt + truck + labor. the last time I had the numbers in front, the costs for storing and spreading salt were far higher than the actual cost of the salt itself. in other words, although alternatives are about 5 to 10 times as expensive as salt, actual total cossts wouldn't rise significantly.

[HopeHoops]

1. PA uses a lot of ash. It doesn't melt snow, but it makes driving much safer.

Salt melts the snow and it often refreezes in ice patches. It really isn't all that helpful in some cases. Ash gives you traction. At least the tires have SOMETHING to bite into. You would think that sand would be better, but I really don't find that to be the case.

[hedgehog]

2. One problem with sand is that it washes into storm sewers and stays there.

Is ash usd anywhere outside the rust belt? I think it used to be coal ash and/or slag from the steel mills.

[katkat]

3. sand gak

My town uses some and it collects in my front yard.

[madmom]

4. They already use this around here, we can tell there is "something" coming when we

see "stripes" down the road.

[hedgehog]

5. Did you see your tax bill go up when your community made the switch?

How does the effectiveness compare? Are the roads more slippery, less slippery, the same?

[madmom]

6. I didn't really notice a difference in taxes. I think using it is better, because it

keeps the roads from freezing in the first place, also a big plus is there isn't as much salt build up on cars (rust) and in having all that salt thrown into your lawn/garden from the snow plow. Also haven't seen the black ice we usually see. All in all I like it better.

[hedgehog]

8. Can you point me to any info regarding the changeover? I'd

like to start pushing it around here.

[SoCalDem]

7. Michigan City, IN used to use sand, salt & cinders..

Nice fluffy white snow, mixed with it turned the whole place into a grey dismal scene, and the ruined shoes & boots ..arrgggghhh!!

Cars rusted within a few winters too.. and when the plows cruised down the street at about 50 MPH, slinging black sludgy ice- boulders into yards, ..well the grass & trees suffered too