Crow Wing SWCD offers training to reduce salt use on roads

jmp salt.jpg — Mike Lane loads salt onto trucks at Oakdale Public Works before drivers went out during a light snow in the city Wednesday, Nov. 13. Seven trucks used salt and brine to clear the streets. Salt from winter highway maintenance is by far the biggest source of salt pollution, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Jean Pieri / St. Paul Pioneer Press

By Nancy Vogt

August 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM

The Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting certification trainings to help maintenance operators and property managers reduce salt usage while still maintaining safe paved surfaces.

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s smart salting for roads online certification training for operators who maintain winter streets, roads and highways will take place from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 27.

The other virtual training session is for public or private property managers and contractors who maintain sidewalks, driveways and small parking lots. It will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 28.

Training topics include environmental impacts, best management practices for reducing salt use safely, cost-saving opportunities, liability and customer education.

Deadline for registration is Aug. 14. Call Adam Maleski at 218-828-6197 or email adam.maleski@crowwingswcd.org .

When snow and ice start to accumulate on area roads, parking lots and sidewalks, salt is often applied, which contains chloride, a water pollutant. When snow and ice melt, most of the salt goes with it, washing into lakes, streams and rivers, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

“It only takes 1 teaspoon of road salt to permanently pollute 5 gallons of water,” Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District District Manager Melissa Barrick said in a news release.

“We are trying to spread the word that ‘less is more’ when it comes to applying road salt because at high concentrations, chloride can harm the fish and plant life in our waters,” Barrick said.

For more information about reducing salt usage, visit https://bit.ly/2Wv2MkK ; for more information about the certification trainings, visit https://bit.ly/398NeIU .

By Nancy Vogt

Nancy Vogt is editor of the Pineandlakes Echo Journal, a weekly newspaper that covers eight communities in the Pequot Lakes-Pine River areas - from Nisswa to Hackensack and Pequot Lakes to Crosslake.

She started as editor of the Lake Country Echo in July 2006, and continued in that role when the Lake Country Echo and the Pine River Journal combined in September 2013 to become the Pineandlakes Echo Journal. She worked for the Brainerd Dispatch from 1992-2006 in various roles.

She covers Nisswa, Pequot Lakes, Lake Shore and Crosslake city councils, as well as writes feature stories, news stories and personal columns (Vogt's Notes). She also takes photos at community events.

Contact her at nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com or 218-855-5877 with story ideas or questions. Be sure to leave a voicemail message!