Road salt is hurting Michigan’s environment, but what are the alternatives?

(WXYZ) — It is starting to look loads like winter in Michigan, and meaning, roads are about to get extra harmful as winter climate creates slippery situations.

There isn’t a query that highway salt saves lives. A research from Marquette Universit discovered salt reduces accidents by as much as 88% and accidents by as much as 85%.

However, salt additionally has penalties. It contaminates our surroundings, and we’re going in-depth on how environmentalists and the Michigan Division of Surroundings, Nice Lakes and Vitality plan to make use of it extra effectively.

Every year, greater than 19 million tons of highway salt is utilized in the USA, in response to the Nationwide Minerals Infomation Middle. Then, it washes off the roads.

Oakland County Water Useful resource Commissioner Jim Nash mentioned subsequent to roads, on salty floor, invasive crops thrive attributable to salt. These invasive crops are principally ocean shore crops that thrive off the salt from oceans that results in the bottom.

“Salt working off into freshwater techniques can change the salinity of these downstream waterways,” Nash mentioned.

Megan Tinsely, the water coverage director on the Michigan Environmental Council, mentioned if we do not use much less salt over time, the influence will develop and will influence ingesting water.

The Michigan Environmental Council is internet hosting an occasion on this situation on Friday.

Craig Bryson, the senior communications supervisor for the Highway Fee of Oakland County, mentioned the fee has checked out options for salt. However, the underside line for them is motorist security.

For instance, the fee has tried out beet juice however discovered it attracted animals to the highway.

To date, with regards to price and efficiency, nothing matches salt.

“We’re involved in regards to the setting and have in-house environmentalists who monitor all the things we do and we attempt to do issues as inexperienced as we will,” Bryson mentioned.

The gear has improved through the years. For instance, brine tanks and brine make the salt go additional.

“Within the previous days, the mattress of the truck was the salt spreader. You raised the mattress and gravity compelled it out on the identical price,” Bryson mentioned. “We’ve got computerized spreaders now which might be hooked to the speedometer on the car.”

The highway fee says it will get extra calls from individuals who need to see extra salt than from individuals involved about salt.

“I can get a name at 3 within the morning that I’ve to be someplace. And if the roads aren’t nice, you may have an issue,” Artwork Weiss mentioned.

Weiss is an lawyer who is usually on name for police unions to handle points that come up day or evening, winter and summer season. He mentioned he’s grateful salt retains our roads secure, however he additionally cares in regards to the setting.

“That’s the most valuable factor we’ve got in Michigan. That is the water wonderland. The Nice Lakes state,” Weiss mentioned.