An article by Diane Huskinson titled “The Trouble with Salt” at the Stroud Water Research Center explains the dire problems caused by road salt in our area. And let’s not think the problem is confined to snow season; in fact salinity remains high in summer, when warmer temperatures make salt even more toxic to aquatic organisms! Stroud has a program for monitoring the quality of local streams. See the article for more info and links.

Our municipalities need to solve this problem, since they are the ones putting the great majority of the salt into our streams. Rain gardens and green infrastructure such as retention basins can help; and also of course reducing salt use, especially in low-speed byways like alleys. See also here on this site and info at our component group Don’t Spray Me! And you can search “road salt” on both sites.