The salting of roads, sidewalks, and driveways to melt snow and ice is a routine part of winter in and around Pine Plains. But as concerns grow about the environmental damage caused by excessive salt use, New York state officials are urging residents and municipalities to rethink how — and how much — they apply.
This December, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has launched a public education initiative aimed at reducing salt runoff into groundwater, streams and lakes, part of a broader effort to protect drinking water supplies and freshwater ecosystems.
Heavy salt use can contaminate surface water and negatively affect freshwater ecosystems, including plants and animals, state officials said. Salty runoff can also seep into the ground and threaten drinking water supplies. Over time, salt corrodes vehicles and damages roads and other infrastructure.
“It only takes one teaspoon of salt to pollute five gallons of water,” said DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton in a Dec. 8 press release. “We’re asking all New Yorkers to take common-sense precautions before using too much rock salt on their sidewalks, driveways, and other places around their homes and businesses to help prevent unknowingly harming our environment.”
The campaign, “Don’t Be Salty, New York,” encourages residents to shovel snow before applying salt and to use less than they might expect. According to the DEC, 12 ounces of salt is sufficient to treat 250 square feet — roughly the size of a 20-foot, one-lane driveway.
Temperature also matters. Salt lowers water’s freezing point from 32 degrees to about 15 degrees and becomes ineffective below that threshold. When temperatures drop further, sand or other commercial ice-melting products work better.
On public highways, the scale of salt use is far greater. Over a seven-year average, state highway salt trucks applied 194 pounds of salt per lane-mile when operating. According to an August press release from the state Department of Transportation, usage last winter fell to 172 pounds per lane-mile. In areas where a brine system — a mixture of water and salt applied before snowfall — was used, usage dropped further to 120 pounds per lane-mile.
Additional training for salt truck drivers has been part of the DOT’s winter preparation for several years.
“No task is too small when it comes to reducing salt on state roads,” DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez stated in the press release. “We are continuously improving our operations, refining our craft and adopting best management practices throughout the year that our crews can utilize during snow and ice events. We’ve even added road temperature sensors to our entire fleet so we know the exact materials to use before, during and after storms.”
Local officials say Pine Plains has taken steps of its own. At a November Town Board meeting, Conservation Advisory Council Chair Gail Mellow said she attended a seminar on road salt. “Data collected by Cary Institute [of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook] scientists shows that our Highway Superintendent Carl Baden…is the second most ecologically mindful distributor of salt in Dutchess County,” Mellow said. “This reduces the negative impacts of road salt on waterways and our drinking water.”
In response to an email inquiry, Baden wrote, “I’d like to say we have a great new way of managing our salt usage but the truth is we keep a close eye on the weather and only use what we need when necessary. The less salt we use the less it will impact the environment, the cost and quantity, and the integrity of the roads.”
Baden said he reduced the town’s annual rock salt purchase from 1,000 tons to 700 tons this year after several seasons of lower usage. On days when winter weather is expected, he said he begins monitoring temperatures as early as 3 a.m. to ensure road treatments align with local conditions.
The first snowfall of the season, he noted, often requires a different approach. “With the first storm, there is nothing on the road and it’s the slickest. We use a salt and sand mixture to create some grit on the surface,” he said.
State officials said that the success of programs like “Don’t Be Salty, New York” — along with similar efforts across New England — depends on individual choices as much as municipal practices.
In the “Good Old Days” (1940s-50s), an aggregate (often sand) was used heavily on local roads. It caused fewer “environmental” issues than salt does today.