Most of us in the north county enjoy a beautiful snowfall, but hate ice. Even with a mild winter, there is thawing, refreezing and ice! As I walk through neighborhoods I see salt residue sitting on sidewalks and streets. Please sweep this up. The salt runs into our lakes and streams and is very harmful to fish and plant life. Highway departments, businesses and homeowners all need to be conscious of the salt they use. My local hardware store has a corn-based product they claim works well that is lake-friendly.
It takes only one teaspoon of road salt to permanently pollute 5 gallons of water. Once salt is in the water, there is no way to remove it. Salt harms fish, plant life and the over all quality of the lake or stream.
Suggestions to protect our lakes and waterways:
- Always shovel sidewalks and driveways.
- Remove ice on days when melting is occurring.
- Redirect your drain-spouts so they don’t drain on to the sidewalk. Capture water run-off in a rain-garden.
- Be safe, and try to avoid the ice in the first place which I know can be impossible. A tiny amount of salt can go a long way.
- Sweep up any salt after the ice melts!
- Check out great winter salt suggestions: https://www.wisaltwise.com/
Health4earth 