Road salt remains part of Montreal's winter de-icing strategy despite environmental concerns

Every winter, the city of Montreal salts its icy roads and sidewalks like a raw steak. And if the city tried to reduce its reliance on the mineral last year, in this year's winter de-icing plan, Mayor Soraya Martinez-Ferrada says the city is not holding back. The city says road salt, which is actually 80% gravel and 20% sodium chloride, is still considered the best we've got. But all the wrecked winter boots and the underside of your car would probably beg to differ. And the problem gets much worse. Road salt wreaks havoc on infrastructure, corroding things like the old Champlain Bridge. And because it lowers the freezing point of water, it adds to that cycle of freezing and thawing all winter long, which is a pothole's best friend. Salt is one of this type of product that you don't see the impact immediately on your water, on your roadside vegetation, but it has an impact. The environmental impacts of road salt are highly reported. When the snow washes away into water, the salt goes with it, and it seeps into our groundwater, into our river systems, and in some cases, our drinking water. So if you spread some salt on your garden, you will see the plant will dry quite fast. The city, for its part, is testing out this new starfish-based additive, which, when mixed with salt, helps to reduce its corrosive effects. The problem with salt is that it actually takes a while before we start to see its impact, which is why experts are saying we need to find alternatives now. But nobody is giving that much attention. People will probably laugh, oh Kamal, you are talking about the consequence after 200 years. But it will be a consequence. So someone needs to take a stage, okay, to reduce the impact. So it comes down to the age-old balance between the initial cost of investment and the long-term cost of doing nothing.