A Management Strategy for Oneida Lake and its ... - CNY RPDB Home

Encouraging Safe Road Deicing Application and Storage
Program Goal
Minimize negative environmental impacts of road deicers
on water resources in the Oneida Lake watershed
page 80
Problem Identification
Snow and ice on winter roads in the Oneida
Lake watershed is a public safety issue. To
remove this danger for drivers, municipalities
rely on road salt (NaCl) because it is costeffective
($30/ton) and efficient.
National research has shown that road salt can
have negative environmental impacts on
waterways. However, groundwater contamination
and negative impacts on fish and wildlife
have not been determined in the Oneida Lake
watershed.
Transportation agencies may be asked in the
future to use more environmentally friendly
alternatives to road salt but few guidelines
currently exist to determine which alternative
products are effective, economical, and nondetrimental
to the environment.
Alternative products for road de-icing such as
urea, potassium acetate, magnesium chloride,
calcium chloride, have not been extensively
studied to determine the environmental
impacts. In addition, many of these products
are very expensive ($500/ton in some cases
vs. $30/ton for road salt) and are not as
efficient as road salt.
Urea, which is commonly used around bridges
to decrease corrosion, may increase nutrient
loading to waterways. The use of abrasives,
such as sand, also increases cleanup and road
maintenance costs for Highway Departments
and negatively impact storm sewers.
A comprehensive tributary monitoring study
was conducted on all of the major streams
flowing into Oneida Lake during 2002 –2003.
Of the eleven subwatersheds studied, four
were found to contribute the largest amount of
chloride, a component of de-icing salt, to
downstream habitats during storm events.
These include Butternut Creek (2,554
g/ha/day) Chittenango Creek (2,467 g/ha/day),
Limestone (1,875 g/ha/day), and Big Bay
(1,800 g/ha/day).
Impacts
NaCl is the most commonly used road deicer
in the nation. According to the National
Research Council, road salt use in the United
States ranges from 8 million –12 million tons
per year. New York’s annual road salt usage
is 500,000 tons/yr. More recently, the use of
NaCl has come under the scrutiny of environmental
regulators because of its long-term
impacts on the aquatic environment and
potential implications to people that rely on
groundwater resources for drinking water.
Despite negative public perception, the
influence on fish and wildlife, well contamination,
and other potentially harmful impacts of
road deicers in the Oneida Lake watershed
have not been scientifically researched or
formally documented as a significant problem.
Research conducted by the University of
Toronto, however, found that in metropolitan
Toronto, 45% of the salt applied to roads runs
off in the first flush and the remaining 55%
seeps into groundwater. Most of this salt
reemerges in local streams within a 50 year
time span, increasing salt concentrations in
Chapter 3: Priority Areas