10/23/2017
A Watershed for Life
Winter Road Salt (Chloride) in Lake Simcoe Tributaries
David Lembcke Manager, Environmental Science and Monitoring Bill Thompson Manager, Integrated Watershed Management Chitra Gowda Source Water Protection Lead, CO Proud winner of the International Thiess Riverprize Member of Conservation Ontario
Winter Salt Use • 3 – 5 million tonnes applied annually in Canada • Primary anti-icing tool in Ontario • Roads, parking lots, sidewalks, playgrounds….. • Increasing expectation / adoption of ‘bare pavement’ standard • Road salt usage makes winter driving safer • Corrosion costs ~$143/car/year • Corrosion of infrastructure • Steel, concrete, asphalt, bridges, parking garages • Salt contamination of drinking water
sources. 2 Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Winter Salt impacts on the Environment • Vast majority of salt will end up in surface / groundwater • days to decades • Highly soluble and concentrations in water are unaffected by chemical reactions • Affects osmoregulation of freshwater species • 2011 CCME Guideline • Chronic (long term) = 120 mg/L • Acute (short term) = 640 mg/L
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Environment Canada “Priority Substances List Assessment Report: Road Salt” 2001
• Therefore, it is concluded that road salts that contain inorganic chloride salts… are “toxic” as defined in Section 64 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Municipal application rates
City of Toronto, normalized application rate (Kilgour et al 2013)
• Code of Practice appears to have contributed to a reduction in the “normalized” application rate of ~26% • This has not translated to an overall reduction in salt use 5
Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Chloride levels in Ontario streams
- Long-term increases in chloride are evident in Ontario streams. - Annual average from 2000 stream sites across Ontario
Figure from Water Quality in Ontario Report, MOECC, 2010 6 Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Lake Simcoe Chloride Trends • Concentrations have been increasing at a rate of 0.7mg/l/year (2013 = 45.24 mg/l) • By 2120 Cl will exceed 120mg/l guideline
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Benchmark Chloride Concentrations • Ocean salt concentration = 35,000mg/L • 55% Cl = 19,250mg/L • 45% Na = 15,750mg/L • Unimpacted lakes on Canadian Shield = <1 – 7mg/L • Cooksville Creek Mississauga = 20,000 Cl mg/L • Max Lake Simcoe Tributary Cl = 6,120 mg/L at Hotchkiss Creek, February 2013
• Max Parking lot runoff concentration = 85,673 Cl mg/L 8 Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Bluffs Chloride in 12mg/l Simcoe 11mg/l Tributaries
Beaver Hotchkiss 30mg/l Ave. Cl Concentrations 857mg/l 26mg/l Winter 247mg/l Spring, Summer, Fall
• High Chloride concentrations in tributaries linked to urban areas and Holland Landing seasonality 339mg/l 140mg/l 9 Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Daily Chloride Concentrations – Urban
Summer Autumn Winter
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Application in Lake Simcoe Watershed
2%
18% Local roads
39% Regional roads
Provincial 14% highways Parking lots
Residential 27%
• Total of 100,000 T in 2012 • Equivalent to 225 kg of salt per capita • that is 2.5 of me!
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Clean Water Act – Vulnerable Areas Drinking Water - Vulnerable Areas 1. Intake Protection Zones 3. Highly Vulnerable Aquifers 2. Wellhead Protection Areas 4. Significant Groundwater Recharge Areas
Water Quality “Issues” • Known contaminant that can impair the source water. e.g.: sodium, chloride. • Activities contributing to an Issue are subject to mandatory policies. e.g.: road salt storage and application, snow storage. • Activities occur in Issue Contributing Areas, within vulnerable areas.
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Chitra Gowda, SourceLake Simcoe Water RegionProtection Conservation Lead, Conservation Authority OntarioA Watershed for Life
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Multi-sectoral approach to salt reduction
Built environment
Salt Reduction
Private Public sector sector practices practices
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Private sector practices • Promote / host Smart About Salt training • Research to understand barriers to adoption • Commercial / ENGO roundtable • Enhance status of the issue • Develop business case to demonstrate effectiveness 14
Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Built environment: Commercial Parking Lot
Year Salt Ave Number of Total salt if Applicat Applicat applications application ion ion Rate rate was (tonnes) (g/m2) ~58g/m2 2015 1039 117 64 527 2016 556 65 60 494 2017 1052 102 72 592
• Disproportionate applied to walkways and “trouble spots” (488g/m2 to 4,766g/m2)
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Built environment: Design • Standard design drawings for: • Effective grading • Snow disposal sites • Sidewalks • Landscaping • Example site plans • Small, medium, large • Template policies for municipal OPs, zoning
bylaws 16
Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Public Sector: Urban Growth
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Public Sector: Urban Growth
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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Public Sector: LSRCA Watershed Salt Working Group
“State of Pilot studies practice” review
Salt Literature management review technical Municipal salt briefs management plans
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
Conservation Ontario - Salt Vulnerable Areas Working Group • Goal: Find the balance to address the winter treatment of roads in salt vulnerable areas • Membership: Municipal road operations managers, conservation authorities, MOECC, ECCC (co-chairs: CO, OGRA) • Highlights: Discussed municipal liability challenges; reviewed current best management measures; prioritized salt vulnerable areas • Outcome: Best management measures guidance document (draft stage) for salt management plans and risk management plans, considering various municipal budgets
and capacities. 20
Chitra Gowda, SourceLake Simcoe Water ProtectionRegion Conservation Lead, Conservation Authority OntarioA Watershed for Life
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Conservation Ontario - Salt Vulnerable Areas Working Group Discussions: • Spreader calibration workshops • Sharing winter maintenance specialist amongst municipalities • Trucks equipped with advanced technology to be used in prioritized Salt Vulnerable Areas • Road Weather Information System (RWIS) partnerships • Training for private sector contractors to reduce salt applied to parking lots and better salt storage • Address runoff through parking lot design • A guidance document for municipalities. 21
Chitra Gowda, SourceLake Simcoe Water ProtectionRegion Conservation Lead, Conservation Authority OntarioA Watershed for Life
Questions?
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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority A Watershed for Life
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