WARRENSBURG — The state Department of Environmental Conservation is encouraging New Yorkers not to oversalt treatment surfaces this winter, given the negative health and environmental impacts that come from salt runoff.

DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton joined state Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez and other officials at the Warren County Department of Public Works building on Monday to promote the DEC’s “Don’t be Salty” campaign.

The public awareness campaign to help educate property owners, managers, communities and snow and ice removal professionals about the impacts of rock salt and the various strategies that can be implemented to reduce salt use.

Although applying rock salt on roadways, parking lots and sidewalks helps to ensure the safety of those traveling by vehicle or foot, overuse of salt can be costly for consumers, degrade infrastructure, contaminate runoff that enters streams and waterbodies and impact drinking water.

“It only takes one teaspoon of salt to pollute five gallons of water,” Lefton said in a statement following Monday’s event. “We’re asking all New Yorkers to take common-sense precautions before using too much rock salt on their sidewalks, driveways and other places around their homes and businesses to help prevent unknowingly harming our environment. ‘Don’t Be Salty’ and help save your money, remain safe and protect our waterbodies.”

Consistent with a recommendation in the 2023 Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force report, DEC conducted a public survey in 2024 to better understand perceptions surrounding rock salt usage and make appropriate recommendations for reduction strategies to be applied throughout New York. Working with ADK Action’s “Clean Water Safe Roads” campaign, DEC developed the state’s multimedia campaign to expand beyond Adirondack communities and reach all New Yorkers.

In addition to increasing public awareness, DEC coordinates with colleagues at the state DOT and the state Department of Health to ensure New York’s salt reduction priorities are incorporated and considered within agency programs. State agencies collaborate in an attempt to align the work of programs and coordinate outreach and mitigation efforts.

In August, the DOT announced a statewide expansion of its road salt management pilot program for the 2025-26 snow and ice season. The DOT said it takes the issue of road salt management very seriously and added that for more than a decade, it has been a national leader in the effort to reduce the use of salt while still maintaining a safe and reliable transportation system.

These efforts include, but are not limited to, enhanced training for snowplow operators, direct liquid applications in place of road salt, continuous evaluation of innovative equipment and adoption of best management practices for reducing road salt.

As a result, the statewide average application rate for granular salt was reduced to 172 pounds per lane-mile during the 2024-25 snow and ice season, down from the seven-year statewide average application rate of 194 pounds per-lane-mile, according to the DOT.

Conservation advocacy groups, such as the Lake George Association, have called on the DOT to be more transparent in their road salt application data, telling the Enterprise in August that it’s difficult to get application information that would quantitatively shed light on how effective the reduction efforts have been. That article is available at tinyurl.com/npz54976.

“Our crews are among the finest snowfighting forces in the nation and part of what makes them so good is the commitment to not only maintain public safety but also to be good stewards of the environment,” Dominguez said in a statement following Monday’s event. “For more than a decade we have been working to minimize road salt use as much as possible and the results speak for themselves. Now, it’s time to expand the battle. We encourage everyone to implement judicious salt management practices that minimize salt use while still maintaining safety. A less salty winter will mean a greener, healthier future for us all.”

The DEC encourages all New Yorkers to use these best practices to save money, reduce rock salt pollution and stay safe.

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Use rock salt sparingly

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¯ Shovel first, if possible, to clear snow and ice before applying rock salt. The less snow and ice there is to melt, the less rock salt is needed.

¯ Apply rock salt strategically. A 12-ounce cup full of rock salt is enough to treat 250 square feet, a 20-foot single-car driveway, or approximately 10 standard sidewalk squares.

¯ Apply rock salt only where it is needed most, such as walkways, driveways, and steps.

¯ Use a spreader to evenly distribute salt. Avoid piling it in one area, as this can lead to more salt runoff.

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Monitor weather conditions

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¯ Rock salt loses effectiveness below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Sand can be used for traction on ice during a cold snap — and can be swept up in the spring for reusing — or switch to a deicer made for colder temperatures.

¯ If a snow or ice storm is predicted, consider pre-treating surfaces with rock salt to prevent ice from forming.

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Consider using alternative products

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¯ Consider making your own brine solution at home by combining 3.5 cups of rock salt per gallon of hot tap water and stirring until all salt is dissolved. Let any gravel settle to the bottom. Pour the brine into a regular garden sprayer and spray in a zig-zag pattern over desired area. Save extra brine to use later.

¯ Use products from the GreenNY specifications listed on the DEC website at tinyurl.com/kf7aetsf.

There are many adverse impacts of rock salt overuse, as rock salt can run off into surface waters through snow melt and stormwater or leach into groundwater. Some of these include:

¯ Excessive rock salt in surface water can cause stress to, or kill, fish and other aquatic organisms.

¯ Rock salt washed off surfaces will accumulate in soils, which can kill vegetation or deplete plants of nutrients. Eventually, non-native salt-tolerant vegetation could move in and disrupt ecosystems.

¯ Salty roads attract animals like deer and moose (who love licking up the salt), increasing the probability of accidents and roadkill.

¯ The presence of sodium in drinking water is problematic for individuals with low-salt or limited-salt dietary restrictions. People on a sodium-restricted diet can experience health risks when exposed to elevated levels of sodium in their drinking water.

¯ Rock salt has corrosive properties that can corrode metals, including lead, copper, iron, and steel, from pipes and other infrastructure.

¯ These corrosive effects also impact cars, trucks, bridges, and roads, resulting in approximately $5 billion dollars in annual repairs in the U.S. alone, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

¯ Households using private wells and small unregulated water systems are at the greatest risk of negative impacts from corrosion. Regulated public water systems sample for lead and copper and reduce corrosion if required.

In support of the “Don’t Be Salty” campaign, the DEC developed a fact sheet for municipalities that includes information about Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) funding. That’s available at tinyurl.com/576a45wh. The DEC also developed a video depicting the importance of salt reduction that can be found at tinyurl.com/3uxtszkk and released a podcast episode called Don’t Be Salty New York, available at tinyurl.com/vrrbatfx.

The October/November issue of DEC’s Conservationist magazine also provides a good overview of the salt overuse problem and solutions. For additional information and resources, visit DEC’s rock salt reduction webpage at tinyurl.com/3s7ymctt.

The DEC noted that the state is providing “significant resources” for communities to reduce road salt impacts and implement recommendations for road salt use reduction. To help protect water, the DEC announced in 2024 a competitive, statewide reimbursement grant program that supports implementation projects that directly improve water quality or habitat, promote flood risk reduction, restoration, enhanced flood and climate resiliency or protect a drinking water source. The DEC said it expects to announce additional funding awards for salt storage and road salt reduction practices under the 2025 round of WQIP.