MADISON, Wis. — Crews in Madison and Dane County are careful not to use too much salt when clearing the streets.
It’s a balance of safety on the roads and the health of our lakes.
“When we have an over salinity of the lake it can affect aquatic plant life, which fish rely on for food, which is again going to upset that ecosystem,” said Adam Sodersten with the Clean Lakes Alliance. “So any time we’re introducing something to the lake there are always repercussions.”
The Clean Lakes Alliance wants homeowners to be mindful of that too if they use salt on their cement. They recommend shoveling as close to the ground as you can and say not to bother with salt if it’s too cold. Salt becomes less effective below 18 degrees.
If you do spread salt, you only need about a coffee cup full for a single-car driveway.
To prevent snow from sticking and to make shoveling easier, Sodersten said people can make their own brine at home to pretreat sidewalks and driveways.
COPYRIGHT 2020 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
