In winter, salt helps to keep us safe. Salt applied to paved surfaces provides important benefits for:
- People and businesses: Fewer incidents of slip and fall injuries.
- Transportation: Reduces frequency of vehicle crashes by 88 percent to 95 percent.
- The economy: Enables businesses, government and social services to continue with minimal interruption (estimated avoiding roughly $300-$700 million in direct/indirect costs for a major, one-day, statewide storm).
However, after a snow event, salt residue lingers and impacts:
- Public health: Salt levels in the Potomac River and Occoquan Reservoir – both of which are local drinking water sources – have risen noticeably over the past several decades, with average concentrations more than doubling.
- Infrastructure: Corrosion and damage to vehicles, roads, bridges, sidewalks and parking lots leads to higher maintenance and replacement costs.
- The environment: Increases in stream and groundwater salinity impact freshwater fish and other aquatic life.
The focus of SaMS is to balance the unintended impacts of salt use with the important safety benefits in Northern Virginia.
