Be Salt Smart

Road salt on an icy pavement pathway

Salt use in winter offers clear benefits, such as safer roads, walkable pathways, and keeping businesses and essential services operational. However, the salt used on sidewalks, driveways and roads can also be harmful to the environment, including our water resources. 

Salinity, or salt content, is increasing in freshwater environments around the globe. Salt not only enters the environment from roads and pathways; it is also present in household chemicals, food, beverages, discharges from industrial processes and food processing, and agricultural fertilizers. A single teaspoon of salt can pollute five gallons of freshwater.

Negative Impacts of Salt Use

  • Harm to Human Health: High amounts of salt in drinking water can magnify health problems such as high blood pressure and kidney issues.
  • Harm to Freshwater Plants and Animals: Salt disrupts plant health by accumulating in plant tissues, causing nutrient imbalances, and making it harder for roots to absorb water. In animals, excess salt can lead to reduced reproduction or death. Some animals, such as salamanders, are especially sensitive to salt.
  • Harm to Pets: Salt can dry out and burn pets' sensitive paws, leading to painful cracks or open sores. Licking salt off their paws may cause gastrointestinal issues and ingesting too much can even be fatal.
  • Soil Damage: High levels of sodium can chemically alter clay in the soil, reducing drainage and compacting the soil.
  • Damage to Surfaces: For driveways and walkways made of porous materials like concrete or brick, salt can trigger freeze-thaw cycles that cause cracks and crumbling.
Healthy green plants growing in a stream

Sodium Levels

While there are no regulatory limits on sodium--a key component of salt--the EPA recommends a drinking water limit of 20 milligrams per liter for people on sodium-restricted diets and 270 milligrams per liter for people on moderately restricted sodium diets. Since salt content can alter how water tastes, the World Health Organization established a guideline of 200 milligrams per liter for taste considerations.

For comparison, sodium levels in the Occoquan Reservoir were about 5-10 milligrams per liter in the 1980s and have risen to about 20-35 milligrams per liter in the 2020s.

Treating Water for Salinity

Prince William Water purchases drinking water wholesale, primarily from Fairfax Water. Prince William Water, Fairfax Water and other partners will continue to promote wise salt strategies that minimize costs to our customers. 

Prince William Water is confident that water from the Occoquan can continue to be used as a drinking water source. If salinity levels in the Occoquan Reservoir ever approached levels that would affect the taste of drinking water, reliable technologies could be added to Fairfax Water's treatment process to reduce sodium levels, at an additional cost.

Griffith Fairfax Water

Regional Salt Management Strategies

The Virginia Salt Management Strategy (SaMS) was developed by a group of regional stakeholders, including Prince William Water, in coordination with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The SaMS Toolkit provides recommendations and resources for winter maintenance professionals and residents to become #WinterSaltSmart. It includes educational materials, outreach resources, water quality monitoring tools, and plans to better understand the impacts of winter salt use and the benefits of #WinterSaltSmart practices on water quality. 

Additional resources and recommendations support collaboration, public awareness and improvements in winter maintenance practices.

SaMS Cover

How You Can Use Salt Wisely

  • Shovel early. Clear snow from pavements before it turns to ice. Check out more snow and ice management tips from the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.
  • Clear snow before salting! The more snow and ice present, the more de-icing compound is needed for melting. 
  • Place salt in the specific spots where you need it, rather than randomly scattered over an entire area. For example, sprinkle it near the door and along the entryway to your house after you shovel everything you can.
  • Get a shovel with a sharp aluminum edge strip on the end of the shovel scoop. This metal strip is effective at removing ice from your driveway.
  • Use less. More salt doesn’t mean faster melting. A 12-ounce coffee mug of salt should cover a 20-foot driveway or about 10 sidewalk squares.
  • Spread evenly. Avoid applying salt in clumps.
  • Watch the temperature. When it’s below 15°F, salt won’t work. Instead, try using sand or native bird seed to add traction.
  • Look for leftovers. If salt remains after the ice melts, sweep it up and store it safely for future use to keep it out of rivers and streams.
  • Divert downspouts. If possible, direct downspout runoff to lawn areas rather than onto walkways or driveways.
A person shoveling snow on a cement walkway

Frequently Asked Questions