Some thing I have been thinking recently.

Surely all this salt that is being spread on the roads can’t be doing any good to our freshwater rivers?

Makes driving around a lot easier though.

Most of it drains into the sewerage system which is OK I think. But yes you are right – no doubt some of it ends up in freshwater rivers.

The German way of using grit to make snow grippy, and then recovering/re-using the grit after the melt seems more switched-on to me. And it provides grip at temperatures below -7, unlike our salting approach. But it probably depends on widespread use of winter tyres.

Anyone in the know?

Didn’t this come up last year and the answer was it’s negible.

Jellyfish in the toilet bowl?

http://www.emcstittsvillerichmond.ca/20101223/news/Product+improves+grip+on+ice+and+snow+without+harming+environment,+owner+says

I remember hearing something on the radio last year about it affecting roadside trees in some way. Vague, moi?

Just one of the many ways we are ‘leaving our mark’ on the environment.

As a side effect, roadkill is now pre seasoned

I’ve saved loads of money on salt over the past few weeks. My chips have never tasted better.

Its very bad for any trees near the road if it gets into the soil. Won’t do any other vegetation any good either.

A similar question was asked in one of my Water Engineering classes recently and the answer is that enough dilution takes place for it to have a negligible effect on water courses.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wdk0q
“And as the ice and snow begins to thaw in some parts of the UK, concerns have been raised that salt found in water after the thaw could be dangerous for wildlife. A roadside walk with David Harpley from Cumbria Wildlife Trust reveals verges are now providing habitats for species which normally live in salt marshes.”
The message in the program was that the salt (NaCl) is toxic so it is not doing any good.

Buzz, not sure where you think the flow into sewers ends up after treatment 😉

Salinity removal by sewage treatment is minimal, and it also compromises the effectiveness of treatment too, as well as generating more sulphides than normal (bad egg pong, not good).

Waderider has a point, but that depends on the catchment, in-river flow and antecedent rainfall – discharges from combined sewers can be out of synch with flows in the river so there can be localised impacts.

piedi di formaggio – Member

As a side effect, roadkill is now pre seasoned

😀 genius. A bit like the garlic flavoured shotgun rounds you can get…