Welcome to the Don't be Salty, Lake Champlain public outreach campaign from AdkAction
Don't Be Salty
Lake Champlain
Road Salt Affects Us All
Each winter, road salt helps keep our streets and sidewalks safe, but it comes at a cost we all bear. Road salt accelerates the corrosion of bridges, roads, and vehicles, leading to costly repairs and replacements. Salty sidewalks can harm pets, irritating their paws and posing health risks if ingested. Worse yet, as the salt washes into streams and lakes, it contaminates Lake Champlain—a vital resource for the Champlain Valley.
The 2024 State of the Lake report issued by Lake Champlain Basin Program highlights a long-term increase in chloride concentrations in Lake Champlain and its tributaries, primarily caused by winter road deicing salts. Chloride enters waterways through snowmelt, rain runoff, and groundwater, leading to freshwater salinization, which negatively impacts ecosystems, including plants, algae, and aquatic animals.
Although chloride levels in Lake Champlain are below drinking water and toxicity benchmarks, they are rising due to increasing chloride loads from nearly all Basin rivers. For instance, the Winooski River now delivers over twice the chloride it did in the early 1990s, exceeding 40,000 metric tons annually.
Ecosystems
The application of road salt, primarily sodium chloride, to roads during winter results in a significant amount of this pollutant entering our local waterways.
Road salt tends to change the composition of species in the waters it infiltrates toward more “salt-tolerant” species, “altering the makeup of communities that form the basis of the aquatic food web.”
This can lead to an overall decrease in the productivity of freshwater ecosystems, reduced species abundance, or in cases where there are particularly high chloride concentrations, mortality of aquatic organisms.
When sodium and chloride get deeper, their concentrations can increase and cause oxygen depletion, triggering the release of phosphorus from sediments, and possibly causing cyanobacteria blooms.
Road salt can also potentially increase mobilization of trace metals such as cadmium, lead, copper, iron or zinc, which have been demonstrated to accumulate in fish.
Figures above taken from Ausable River Association and Adirondack Road Salt Task Force Assessment and Recommendations
Human Health
Our neighbors deserve safe drinking water
There are already dozens of known cases of contaminated drinking water here in the North Country.
When a private well is contaminated by salt, it becomes a hazard for people with high blood pressure and other health conditions. The situation can create a costly crisis for local families who need to buy bottled water and replace appliances, pipes, and even drill new wells.
Salt-contaminated drinking water is not just a costly nuisance – for people with high blood pressure and other health conditions it creates a serious public health hazard.
Hear from homeowners
by reading their Salt Stories:
Clean Water
Safe Roads
While road salt is a crucial tool for ensuring safe winter travel, a half-century of salt overuse has had negative consequences for the fragile ecosystem and the health of the people in the North Country. New technologies and practices for winter road maintenance can keep our roads just as safe, while minimizing the impact to our water and infrastructure. By rethinking our winter maintenance strategies, we can protect our communities, pets, and environment.
Clean Water Safe Roads
Why not have both?
AdkAction’s Clean Water, Safe Roads Partnership brings highway departments together with leading technical experts, WIT Advisers, for sustainable snow and ice removal training, creating a learning community for practical salt and sand reduction. This network supports departments to set goals for chloride reduction, and provides training and best management practices for salt application to achieve these goals.
It's working in Peru
Peru, New York, is taking significant strides in improving winter road maintenance techniques, thanks in large part to the dedication of their highway superintendent, Mike Farrell. Under his leadership, the town has embraced innovative practices such as using brine solutions and equipment calibration to reduce road salt usage while ensuring safe winter travel conditions.
The town of Peru is an active member of AdkAction’s Clean Water, Safe Roads Network, and their involvement has been critical in sharing the successes and challenges of working towards sustainable road maintenance practices. Mike Farrell emphasizes the importance of collaboration within the network, saying, “I think it’s important to meet other folks that are doing this, especially for new people just getting started like us.” This spirit of collaboration and shared knowledge is helping Peru and other communities make a meaningful difference in protecting both their environment and their road safety.
Be a part of the solution
(and we don't mean the brine)
Sign
The Clean Water Pledge
salt sustainably at your home or business
Learn tips for salting sustainably and take the Clean Water Pledge to receive a free sticker or car magnet!
Encourage
Your Local Municipality
to embrace best practices for snow and ice removal
Check the list to see if your local highway department is part of the Clean Water, Safe Roads Partnership. If they are, let them know you are supportive of their efforts to protect our resources while keeping us safe! If they aren’t, consider asking your municipality to take steps to reduce road salt. Send our suggested message to your town supervisor, or use it as a starting point:
Meet Our Team
(and get your Save Champy sticker)
at these winter events
Look for us at the events below to pick up your Don’t Be Salty or Save Champy sticker, a salt shaker to help you use just the right amount on your sidewalk, and ask your questions about snow and ice removal. Have an event you’d like us to consider being at? Contact [email protected] and we’ll see if we can make it!
Miracle on Margaret Street
December 7, 2024
World Water Day
TBD March 2025
Mayor's Cup Regatta
July 12, 2025
Battle of Plattsburgh
September 11, 2025
#SaveChampy
Read the very serious report released by AdkAction on April 1, 2024 about the threat posed to Champy, the legendary aquatic monster of Lake Champlain and mascot of our Don’t Be Salty Lake Champlain public outreach campaign.
The Don’t be Salty Lake Champlain public outreach campaign is a project of AdkAction, funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement FY2024 Small Education and Outreach to NEIWPCC in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
AdkAction is a member-supported nonprofit. Our projects address unmet needs, promote vibrant communities, and preserve the natural beauty of the Adirondacks for all. AdkAction has been studying, educating, and advocating for a reduction in road salt since 2010. Learn more about all of AdkAction’s projects for the Adirondacks at AdkAction.org
