Megan (MJ) Fleming
With the recent snow events in the state, many state and city workers were busy preparing for the incoming snow. In the name of safe transportation, salt was put on the roads to prevent them from icing over.
Rock salt is the main deicing material the Iowa DOT uses to combat poor road conditions from winter storms. As the state is finally seeing some snow, we should think about the environmental impacts of preparing for a winter storm. Approximately 200,000 tons of rock salt is used in the state of Iowa per winter. The amount of rock salt used in Iowa is slowly decreasing due to the addition of salt brine as a deicing method. The state uses 32 million gallons of salt brine a winter. Salt, when washed off the roads due to precipitation events and melting snow, enters Iowa waterways. The increase in salt
concentrations in our freshwater systems is detrimental to many native Iowa aquatic species that cannot survive in saltier water conditions.
Aquatic critters are not the only organisms taking the blow from road salts. Terrestrial plants and animals are impacted too. Iowa roadside management programs use ditches to plant native prairie plants to minimize soil erosion, provide habitat for essential pollinators and other native Iowa species, and beautify our roadways. When the salt applied to the road enter the soil after a precipitation event, the soil chemistry is altered. The salt in the soil can be harmful to plants and can kill them. This lowers the plant diversity on our roadways, takes away necessary habitat for many of Iowa’s critters, and
decreases the health of our soils. Iowa is a large agricultural state. The salt used on roads also harms the soil many farmers rely on. High salt concentrations in soil can lead to lower crop yields.
Many Iowa residents rely on the state’s streams for drinking water. High salt concentrations pollute drinking water sources. Saltier streams can corrode bridges and pipes, damaging necessary human infrastructure. Corrosion of materials from human infrastructure leaches heavy metals and nutrients into our streams.
Safety on the road is important in the winter months. Road salts may seem necessary, but what is truly necessary is minimizing our harmful ecological impacts by finding alternatives to our current deicing methods.
About The Author
Megan (MJ) Fleming is serving an 11-month term with Trees Forever in Des Moines, IA. Trees Forever is dedicated to building and caring for the local tree canopy. MJ’s favorite part of her service term is talking with Des Moines locals about why trees are important to them.
MJ enjoys learning about the place where people meet nature. In her free time, MJ enjoys getting outside by running and exploring the many parks in Polk County. She also enjoys reading, trivia nights, and playing board games.