Road Weather Management Program
photos of lightning, trucks plowing snow, an empty road before a storm, and an evacuation
Office of Operations 21st century operations using 21st century technologies

Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Best Practices > Publications > Publication Titles

Title:

Road Salt Use for Winter Maintenance: A Review of Impacts, Alternatives, and Recommendations for the St. Paul Campus Stormwater Management Plan

Abstract:

Road salt is used so extensively because it is inexpensive, easy to spread, and very effective at keeping roads safe in the winter. However, over the past several decades, the negative impacts of salt use have become apparent. There is a clear need to minimize the detrimental effects of road deicing practices while maintaining road safety. As part of the federal regulations for the Clean Water Act, the University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus will be required to write a Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) in the next few years. This review of road salt is prepared as part of background research for the University in preparation for development of this SMP. All of the stormwater on the St. Paul Campus drains into the Sarita Wetlands Complex in the southeast corner of campus. Therefore, water quality impacts will be a theme throughout this paper.

Source(s):

University of Minnesota, Sustainable Campus Initiative, Student Project in Water Quality: Management of a Natural Resource

Date: 2000

Author:

Mangold

Keywords:


Environment
Winter maintenance

PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader®.
Office of Operations