Sudbury city engineer says salt levels in Ramsey Lake 'kind of levelling out'

A drainage engineerwith the city of Greater Sudbury says to better understand the issue of rising salt levels in Ramsey Lake,you have totake a shorter view of the data.

CBCnews reported last week that the Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance, a group of scientists and concerned citizens, is worried about the amount of salt and chloride now in Ramsey Lake and beyond.

• Salt, chloride levels in Sudbury's Ramsey Lake reaching critical levels, water group warns

The group pointed straight at city salt trucks as a big factor in the ongoing rise.

PaulJavor, a drainage engineer and self-styled "stormwaterguy" with the city, said there's no doubt that Sudbury's water has become increasingly salinated over the years.

For him, it's a question of what the levels look like since the city started to make changes to its road salting practices.

"In the long-term projection, [theGreater Sudbury Watershed Alliance is]looking at data from the 90s until relatively recently, and there'scertainly an upward trend," he said.

"[But] if we looked at the data kind of going forward kind offrom 2010, we're seeing that salt levels are kind of levelling out within Ramsey Lake, and similarly, chloride levels are as well."

Javor said about a decade ago, the city stopped salting most local and side roads, partly as a cost-saving measure, since salt is pricier than sand.

Now, fewer than 25 per cent of Sudbury roads get salt at all.

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Javor said to maximize the road salt the city actually doesput down, it has also started making it's own brine.

"[That's]a pre-wetting agent that we use to help salt stick to the asphalt, which helps us use less salt," Javorexplained.

Another change: Javor said the city doesn't salt as often as it once did during a single winter storm. Now, it salts once, and then roads get sand after that. Javor said it'san effort to keep salt from simply being plowed off the road with each pass of a plow.

Competing interests

Whilethe Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance decries the use of any road salt, calling for alternatives like other phosphates or nothing at all,Javor said the city has an obligation to balanceenvironmental stewardship withroad safety; a tension that he saidplays out at every level.

"I've seen it between two neighbours. One neighbour wants his lakeside, you know, 'make sure there's no salt remotely in my area,' andthe other neighbour puts the salt to it.

Javorsaid another part of the salt contamination issue comes down to private and commercial salt use. He saidhe'd like to see more public education about putting salt down in the slippery winter months.