BLAINE, Minn. – State and local leaders fear there is a growing level of salt in groundwater and lakes, and believe as many as 27 percent of wells in the Twin Cities metro have too much salt in them.
State environmental leaders estimate 365,000 tons of salt is applied to roads and sidewalks in the metro each winter, and a study at the University of Minnesota found that 78 percent of that salt ends up in our groundwater. According to You can help by choosing to use less sidewalk salt near your home.
Rebecca Haug, City of Blaine Water Resources Manager, said it only takes one pound, or about a coffee mug full, of salt to clear a 20-foot driveway.
Some ways to prevent excessive salt use is to make sure to remove snow early when it’s easy to shovel, shovel often to prevent snow from icing, only use salt on ice, not snow, and to sweep up and reuse left-over salt.
