Road salt bad for Sudbury's lakes; province needs to act | Sudbury Star

With winter salt (commonly referred to as road salt and containing sodium chloride) levels rising to a “toxic” range in some of Greater Sudbury’s urban lakes, it is commendable that city council is urging cross-sectoral action on this multifaceted environmental, public health and economic issue.

Led by Coun. Deb McIntosh, on May 13, council unanimously passed a motion that urges the Province of Ontario to create and fund an expert stakeholder advisory committee to advise the province and municipalities on the best courses of action to protect freshwater ecosystems and drinking water from the impacts of winter road salt pollution and to develop liability legislation, enforce contractor training and establish standardized best management practices for the snow and ice management sector.

Greater Sudbury, justly called The City of Lakes, can take pride as an early champion in joining the District of Muskoka, Georgina, Waterloo, the Township of Malahide and North Perth as the sixth municipal government to pass this resolution.

Winter salt is visible in the winter months on roads, parking lots, sidewalks and driveways, but its real damage is done when it dissolves and then runs off into creeks, rivers and lakes, with the risk along the way of causing infrastructure corrosion.

Winter salt containing inorganic chloride salts is classified as “toxic” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life 2011 has set an upper limit for chloride to protect aquatic life.

However, of the 31 Sudbury lakes sampled by the Lake Water Quality Program in 2024, 10 are approaching the guideline limit, with one large urban lake having exceeded it. Too much chloride disrupts the freshwater ecosystem and contributes to the cascade of events that can lead to harmful algal blooms and sensitive species fish kills.

Sodium from winter salt entering the city’s drinking water supplies can be a concern to those on sodium-restricted diets. Public Health Sudbury and Districts reports 15 water supplies with sodium levels above 20 mg/L to inform those on sodium-restricted diets. A notable reported water supply is the Sudbury Drinking Water System, David Street, with a sodium level of 54.1 mg/L.

The infrastructure damage from winter salt spans from the personal cost related to stained shoes and carpets and rusting cars to an estimated economic (including road and infrastructure) and environmental cost of $700 to $4,000 per tonne applied.

The city applies approximately 10,000 to 30,000 tonnes of winter salt a year. To balance winter road safety and the environment, city continues to assess for means to reduce winter salt use by participating in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Code of Practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salts, regularly updating its Salt Management Plan and in 2023 converting 73 lane kilometres of roads from salt to sand application.

So why would city council urge Ontario to take the actions stated in the resolution on winter road salt? A significant proportion of winter salt is applied to private and commercial parking lots outside of any regulatory framework. Snow and ice maintenance contractors, an essential and valued sector that keeps parking lots and private roads safe during winter, face slip and fall claims, higher insurance premiums or the inability to obtain insurance, leading some to either overuse winter salt or leave the business.

Landscape Ontario, an organization representing many private contractors, is also in discussions with Ontario to address these concerns.

And here is where citizens can amplify the message to the province about the need to act on salt pollution. The Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition is a group of private citizens and environmental organizations supporting the discussions and resolutions put forward by professional groups and municipalities on legislative reform and the creation of a regulatory framework to create safe conditions for all Ontarians while respecting the natural environment.

Remember, the harm done by visible winter salt is silently at work now in the City of Lakes. Interested groups and members of the public are invited to learn more at saltcoalition.ca,

Richard Witham, chair

Mandy Hey, director

Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance