“There’s pretty good evidence that if we continue to use salt at the rate we do now, it’s going to be detrimental to the rivers and lakes eventually.” That’s the comment of Ryan Westphal, the Facilities Director for La Crosse County, Wisconsin, on the long-standing practice of dumping salt on almost any amount of snow. It’s a comment that represents the growing awareness emerging across the midwest on the cumulative impacts of the actions of lots of people and places.
Why does it matter in Minot? We use salt, too. At the City level, brining (salt and water mixture) along with sand is our solution of choice when it comes to treating roads; both are better than straight salt. But how many 50 lb bags of salt walk out of Menards each winter? And where does it go? Just because we don’t see the impacts doesn’t mean they aren’t happening.
Madeline Heim writing for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal has the story via republication at Wisconsin Watch. And it’s a story of chloride in our water on the increase. And the impacts cascade downstream and cost us in ways we’re only just discovering.
