​Each winter, over 320,000 tons of salt in Chicago alone are spread on roads, parking lots, and sidewalks to manage ice. Excess salt from deicing applications often enters our water supplies, polluting drinking water and harming aquatic ecosystems. As fall arrives, it’s an important time for municipalities and contractors to prepare for the winter season by obtaining sensible salting certifications and refreshing their knowledge of best practices. Fortunately, NWPA communities have access to various resources to support these efforts. 

The NWPA partnered with The Conservation Foundation to develop a best practices manual for parking lots and sidewalks and establish a training and certification program through the Salt Smart Collaborative. The manual is designed to guide private contractors and owners of larger parking lots in using best practices that minimize the environmental impact of salt use. Additionally, several NWPA member counties, including McHenry and Lake Counties, have developed their own manuals, such as the McHenry County Snow and Ice Control Handbook and the Lake County Winter Parking Lot and Sidewalk Maintenance Manual. 

The Salt Smart Collaborative also offers workshops for winter professionals to become Salt Smart Certified. Upcoming training sessions for public roads will be held on September 24, October 3, October 8, and October 15. Trainings for parking lots and sidewalks are scheduled for September 26 and October 1. These half-day training sessions are designed for management-level staff from Illinois-based organizations, such as private contractors, businesses, park districts, school districts, and municipalities responsible for maintaining parking lots and sidewalks during the winter. By participating in Salt Smart Certified training, attendees will learn how adopting Salt Smart Practices can save money, reduce time spent on maintenance, safeguard the environment, and ensure safe surfaces for users.  
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Municipalities and water utilities can also remind community members that they, too, have a role in sensible salting. The Salt Smart Collaborate has extensive outreach resources for communicating best practices with residents, including blog posts and social media graphics. The Conservation Foundation also invites the public to participate in its sensible salting initiatives through the Chloride Watchers program. As a volunteer, you'll commit to monitoring chloride levels at a local waterway of your choice once a month from November through May. The data collected helps provide valuable insight into the impact of chlorides on aquatic life and the effectiveness of Salt Smart winter practices in reducing chloride pollution. To get started, volunteers must attend a training session to learn how to monitor chloride levels properly. Upcoming training sessions are scheduled for October 3, October 9, October 16, October 17, October 22, October 30, and November 7.  
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Sensible salting benefits the environment and contributes to more cost-effective and efficient winter maintenance practices. 

The use of road salt to manage snow and ice on roadways and parking lots is polluting water throughout the Chicago region and beyond. While maintaining public safety during winter conditions is absolutely necessary, much of the salt applied to paved surfaces under current practices is excessive, leading to huge economic and environmental costs. The scale of this problem is massive because salt is applied to all paved surfaces including roads, parking lots, driveways and sidewalks. 

The good news? There are Sensible Salting Best Management Practices (BMPs) that can safely manage snow and ice while reducing the amount of salt used. The bad news? Current practices that drive the excess use of salt are well-established. So how can we help change behavior and protect water resources?
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With transportation agencies working on road salt reduction, the Northwest Water Planning Alliance (NWPA) Sensible Salting Sub-Committee has determined that the next greatest reduction can be achieved by changing salt use practices on parking lots.