The Wisconsin Salt Wise Partnership seeks to reduce road salt use to protect
our freshwater, infrastructure, wildlife, and pets
The Wisconsin Salt Wise Partnership gears up for another week highlighting the threat road salt poses to our rivers, lakes and drinking water. It’s important to note, just a teaspoon of salt can permanently pollute five gallons of water.
The Wisconsin Salt Wise Partnership, a coalition of organizations working together to reduce salt pollution, will host “Wisconsin Salt Awareness Week” from Monday, Jan. 24 to Friday, Jan. 28. Featuring speakers over five days, Wisconsin Salt Awareness Week will tackle road salt issues head-on: how salt impacts freshwater ecosystems, infiltration of salt into groundwater, statewide success stories, and how you can get involved. Speakers will stream live over YouTube from 12:30-1:00 p.m. each weekday to share their knowledge and field questions.
The Wisconsin Salt Wise Partnership, the coalition hosting the event, features a wide range of voices, from non-profit organizations like Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, and the Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network to government groups, like the City of Superior, the City of Milwaukee, Northcentral Wisconsin Stormwater Coalition, the Rock River Stormwater Group and Waukesha County Parks. It’s the coalition’s belief that only by coordination among government, activists, and citizens can salt-use be reduced to protect freshwater resources and reduce premature aging of infrastructure.
“Municipalities across Wisconsin are rethinking winter maintenance with an increased emphasis on mechanical removal and the incorporation of salt brine for pretreatment, best practices that are enabling salt reductions of 50% and more without impacting the level of service,” says Allison Madison, Sustainability and Development Coordinator with Wisconsin Salt Wise.
According to the Wisconsin Salt Wise Partnership, using more salt than necessary doesn’t actually make our roads safer — in fact, since salt damages our infrastructure, it can actually make it worse and be increasingly costly. By making sure we’re using just a coffee mug worth of salt on our driveways at home, and urging government and private employees to adopt best practices, we can cut down how much we spend on salt, keep our rivers clean, and make our roads safe all at once.
Topics covered during the event will include the environmental toll of deicers, salts in our drinking water, the impacts of water softeners, bringing the road salt discussion to the classroom and salt reduction successes. To tune in starting Monday, January 24th at 12:30 p.m. check out the Wisconsin Salt Wise YouTube channel at: bit.ly/wisaltwise.