New York State Asks You To Use Less Salt This Winter

Winter in the Empire State has come upon us pretty fast. It was just a few short weeks ago when the state had its first snowfall of the season, and now we're in the midst of back-to-back winter storms, along with sub-freezing temps.

As the snow falls from the sky and starts to accumulate on the roadways and sidewalks, you're starting to see more folks out clearing snow from their driveways, walkways, and roadways. We should all get ready to see a lot more plows and shovels out and about, especially as the winter season drags on.

One of the most popular ways for people to remove snow and ice from various areas is to use ice-melting chemicals. Whether it's good old-fashioned New York-made rock salt or other compounds like calcium chloride, sometimes the shovel and plow are just not enough to move that mound of snow or block of ice out of the way.

New York State Asks You To Use Less Salt This Winter

Now, before you go out to the big box store to buy a pallet of salt, you may want to take a look at this warning from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation because the DEC has partnered with the state Department of Transportation to ask people not to be so salty this year.

Because rock salt and other chemicals can be dangerous to the environment if overused, state officials are asking everyone to tone it down just a bit this year.

KEEP READING: Legal Risks Of Using Salt On Sidewalks In Buffalo

DEC officials have given several tips for people to use in order to effectively use rock salt and also safeguard the environment.

To combat the slippery snow and ice, road salt (or rock salt as it is also known) is often used to keep roads and walkways clear to ensure easy and safe navigation. Unfortunately, the impacts of excessive rock salt applications pose significant impacts to public health and the environment through contamination of surface water (lakes, ponds, rivers, streams), and groundwater used for recreation and as sources of drinking water, as well as infrastructure failure because of excessive corrosion.
-NYSDEC

Just be mindful where you use the salt and how you use it, because there are some communities that will penalize you if you use salt on the roads or sidewalks.

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