The arrival of winter weather puts snow and ice management on the mind of many community members. While safety is always the top priority, our choices around winter maintenance also impact finances and the local environment.

Salt is a helpful tool for reducing ice and increasing safety, but it harms wildlife and pets, buildings and bridges, cars, and plants. Salt (or chloride) is known as a permanent pollutant because there is no practical way to remove it once it reaches our lakes, streams, and wetlands. It takes just one teaspoon of salt to pollute five gallons of water!

We know that safety is the top priority. This winter, keep the following tips in mind to keep people—and water—safe.

Shovel, scrape or sweep early and often. Manual removal is the single most effective way to combat snow and ice. This step is critical for keeping compaction to a minimum.

Sand or grit can help with traction. Try swapping out salt this winter by picking up a free bag of grit at a local hardware store. Visit getgrittymn.org for locations and information on how to use grit. This year’s giveaway goes until January 16^th. Sand can also be used for traction.

Salt with care. If you stick with salt this winter, make sure you follow smart salting practices. A 20-foot driveway or 10 sidewalk squares can be safely salted with a 12-oz mug’s worth of salt.

Stay mindful of temperatures. Salt is ineffective at temperatures below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. On cold days, skip salt entirely and opt for grit or salt to create traction.

Sweep up any leftovers for reuse. Leftover grit, sand, and salt can be reused. Excess salt in particular should be swiftly swept up – salt only works on ice, not snow or bare pavement.

Upper photo was contributed by watershed residents who wished to remain anonymous. VLAWMO thanks these residents for sharing their talents with our watershed community!