Road Salt Harms Freshwater Ecosystems: Here Is What We Know

During the winter months, when ice and snow begins to accumulate, many northern states salt roads, driveways, and walkways to melt ice and keep public areas safe to drivers and pedestrians. As it turns out, A LOT of salt is needed to people safe. For example, it is estimated that the state of Michigan applies anywhere from 343,000 to 759,248 TONs of salt on their roads each winter.Salting has increased the safety of icy areas, but aquatic research suggests that road salt has begun to make its way into freshwater lakes and rivers, slowly making these areas saltier and therefore less ideal to fish and aquatic organisms. In this podcast, we will discus what road salt is, dive into the effects salt has on freshwater ecosystems, and see what researchers have found as alternative methods to protect the public in winter.