Winter Salt Week, running from January 27 to January 31, aims to raise awareness about the environmental consequences of road salt use and encourage sustainable practices to protect water quality and infrastructure.
Environmental and Infrastructure Impacts of Road Salt
Millions of tons of salt are applied to roads across the country every winter to melt snow and ice for safe travel. Though road salt is an effective tool to keep roads clear, it sticks around. NJDEP data show that salt levels in many of the state’s fresh waterbodies exceed acceptable limits – harming aquatic ecosystems, endangering wildlife, and polluting drinking water sources. Salt also corrodes roads, bridges, and vehicles, leading to costly infrastructure repairs.
Educational Campaign and Volunteer Opportunity
Inspired by Wisconsin’s successful efforts, the national Winter Salt Week campaign will feature daily educational webinars at 1:30 pm from Monday through Thursday covering the problems that arise from oversalting and what we can do to fix it. Winter Salt Week will conclude with a volunteer water quality monitoring opportunity with the NJ Salt Watch project.
Winter Salt Week Highlights
- January 27 and 28 at 1:30 pm: Webinars for the General Public
- Learn about salt pollution and its effects on the environment and infrastructure.
- January 29 at 1:30 pm: Webinar on Smart Salting Strategies for NJ Municipal Road Managers
- New Jersey’s Richard Balgowan, former Hamilton Township (Mercer County) DPW director, will share his expertise on best practices for reducing salt use while maintaining road safety.
- January 30 at 1:30 pm: Webinar on Policy Solutions
- Policymakers and environmental advocates will explore policies to address salt pollution.
- January 31: NJ Salt Watch Statewide Snapshot
- Volunteers with the NJ Salt Watch project will capture chloride measurements across the state on the same day. How does your favorite waterbody measure up?
For details, please visit: https://thewatershed.org/winter-salt-week-2025/
The Role of NJ Salt Watch
J Salt Watch was launched in December 2020 by The Watershed Institute, a nonprofit based in Pennington, to monitor the effects of winter road salting on our freshwater streams and lakes. Since then, about 550 volunteers have collected more than 3,000 chloride measurements across the state, helping to fill in gaps in our understanding of the extent of this issue. Volunteer scientists select their favorite New Jersey freshwater stream, river, lake, or pond and return to that spot multiple times over winter to track how chloride levels change over time – and after a couple road salt applications.
Funding and Data Collection Efforts
Funded by a grant from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, NJ Salt Watch is part of a statewide effort to encourage the public to learn about local environmental health through water quality monitoring. NJDEP scientist Debbie Kratzer noted “The Department values the water quality data collected by community members. The data helps identify pollution hot spots as well as healthy streams so we can make informed decisions and the Department, individuals, and municipalities can implement actions that will reduce water pollution.”
Municipal Solutions and Smart Salting Strategies
NJDEP staff also worked with Sustainable Jersey to develop a road map for municipalities to reduce their salt use. The new action, Winter Best Practices to Reduce Road Salt Impacts, is designed to aid Public Works Departments with practical strategies to lessen their impact on freshwaters while maintaining public safety.
The webinar on Wednesday will highlight tangible solutions for New Jersey municipalities to reduce salt use. Richard Balgowan, former Director of Public Works for Hamilton Township in Mercer County, will share his expertise on best practices for winter road management. One of the most efficient practices to reduce oversalting is anti-icing with brine, which is visible as white stripes on roads before a storm. Brining uses far less salt than applying solid rock salt and it remains on the road to prevent snow and ice from sticking to the surface. In contrast, white roads days after a storm are a clear indication of over-application of salt, which is harmful to the environment and wasteful of resources. By deploying smart salting strategies, public agencies and private companies can reduce salt use by 30-50% without impacting safety.
“Road salt is essential for winter safety, but its overuse can have serious environmental and economic consequences,” said Erin Stretz, Assistant Director of Science at The Watershed Institute. “This campaign is about balancing safety with sustainability, showing that small changes can make a big difference.”
How to Get Involved
View Winter Salt Week Webinars: For details and to view livestreams, visit The Watershed Institute at Winter Salt Week 2025 | thewatershed.org
Volunteer with NJ Salt Watch: Sign up at njwatershedwatch.org/saltwatch
Adopt Sustainable Jersey Action: Encourage your municipality to adopt best practices to reduce winter salt impacts. Learn more at www.sustainablejersey.com/actions/#open/action/607
Submitted by the Watershed Institute.
