At their January 28 General Committee meeting, Huntsville councillors instructed municipal staff to move forward with a detailed review of the municipality’s road salt usage and policies.
The recommendation was brought forward by Climate Action Strategist for the Town, David Zilkey, following a deputation from the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed last October and a funding request as part of their SALTYMuskoka initiative to reduce the overuse of road salt in Muskoka.
The goal, said Zilkey, would be to find ways of reducing salt usage while meeting requirements under the minimal maintenance standards set out by the province.
“As chloride concentrations rise, the health of aquatic plants and animals, roadside vegetation, and drinking water supplies is threatened. Once road salt is applied to a surface, little can be done to avoid its eventual arrival in streams, rivers, or lakes; traditional plant buffers designed to prevent contaminants from entering freshwaters are not effective at removing chloride ions from runoff. Therefore, in order to protect freshwater ecosystems, it is important to limit the application of salt wherever possible,” he stated in a report to the committee.
Zilkey said one of the reduction measures is a sand mix storage structure to be included in the operations department’s redevelopment project.
“It is possible to reduce the amount of road salt used while still meeting the Town’s obligation of minimum maintenance standards. If the Town’s sand pile were to be stored in a covered facility, the concentration of salt could be reduced to 3%, which would save an estimated 300 tonnes of road salt annually,” he noted. The Town currently uses a 5% sald and 95% sand mix.
According to Zilkey, the addition of a sand storage structure is already in the capital forecast as part of a new operations centre building. “This structure will cost an estimated $1,520,000, a portion of which is eligible to be funded through the development charges (approximately $380,0000) and Salt Management reserve ($115,0000). A sand storage structure would reduce the Town’s annual salt use by an estimated 300 tonnes and save $33,900 per year.”
Zilkey also recommended that the municipality work with Friends of the Muskoka Watershed to help them apply for a community grant program, in partial support of their funding request of $5,000. He said the Town’s community grant program can provide up to $1,500, and further funding for their advocacy and educational SALTYMuskoka program could be considered in a future budget.
Councillor Helena Renwick said the overuse of road salt is a serious issue. “We need to have the numbers to know what we are putting out into the environment,” she said, adding that she is in favour of a review.
Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock asked whether staff would be comparing the results of Huntsville’s usage with those of other municipalities.
Bradon Hall, Acting Director of Operations at the Town of Huntsville, said he would reach out to neighbouring municipalities to compare usage.
Councillor Cory Clarke said he would support the initiative, but cautioned that the safety of roads must be maintained, “especially because of all of the liabilities that we have. But I do agree it’s very important to protect our watershed.”
Councillor Bob Stone wanted to know why so much salt was really required, particularly since it’s ineffective when it is really cold, other than to keep the sand from freezing. He asked whether just sand could be used on snow-packed roads. Hall explained that priority routes, like steep roads and emergency routes, require salt to get down to the bare road. “So, yes, it doesn’t work in the cold; however, through the minimum maintenance standards, we can pretreat the roads before you get that type of weather, and we are doing that,” he said, adding that the trucks are also calibrated so that the spinners on the trucks are spinning at a rate that ensures the salt stays on the road instead of bouncing off.
There were also discussions surrounding liability, insurance costs and the overuse by contractors.
In the end, councillors directed staff to review salt usage policies, return with a report, and, if needed, assist the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed Council with a community grant application.
You can find the staff report HERE (pdf).
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CRAZY ENVIRONMENTALISTS!
THIS ZILKEY GUY AND HIS ROLE IS A WASTE OF TAXPAYER $!
ADVOCATING MINIMUM STANDARDS IS ABSURD!!!