The heavy use salt sugar arrive Thaw the streets and highways in the Upper Midwest of the United States raised more than one-third of the Upper Mississippi River’s chloride levels. Based on to make cleara study from Upper Mississippi River Basin Association found that the liberal use of road salt in well-known snowfields was responsible for the watershed’s 35% increase in chloride levels between 1989 and 2018, which is the ratio salinization one to four percent per year.
Scientists say this increase is unsustainable, and they warn that the Upper Mississippi River could eventually see levels of chronic toxicity that will affect freshwater bodies across Minnesota, Illinois , Wisconsin and beyond, as saltwater flows from Mississippi River down the Gulf of Mexico.
Chloride will make it down there, like to make clear reported, because “unlike other pollutants, chloride does not break down in water over time. In other words, once it’s in, it can’t be taken out.”
And while Upper Mississippi has yet to be polluted by salt sugar At chronically toxic levels, high chloride levels threaten the smaller rivers and streams that connect to the Mississippi, which cannot discharge the same amount of water as large rivers — famously one of the dividing lines of the United States:
Both EPA and state environmental agencies set limits when chloride becomes toxic to aquatic life. In Wisconsinfor example, 395 milligrams per liter of chloride in a body of water for days at a time is considered chronic depletion, while 757 milligrams per liter, which is immediately toxic to fish, is considered acute.
Although the Mississippi River is below the limit, many smaller tributaries are not. In Minnesota, 50 lakes and streams are considered to be contaminated with chloride and another 75 have chloride levels close to standard, according to state pollution control agency. In Wisconsin, 51 rivers and one lake are chronically impaired by chloride, DNR data shows – most in the southeastern part of the state.
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Go read the full report because it details the effects this Mississippi salt build-up could have over nearly three decades. These include higher currents in water, which kill freshwater aquatic plants and animals, and can lead to harmful effects. blooms is the result of dead zooplankton.
Higher chloride concentrations can also be harmful to humans, as salt seeps into the groundwater that cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin rely on as a source of drinking water. And chloride poses a risk to infrastructure because it corrodes drinking water lines with lead and copper, leading to pollution.
The findings have prompted public safety agencies and other departments in several states to change their approach to winter thawing roads. Salting is becoming more common, whereby salt is mixed with water resulting in less salt being used. beetroot juice is another promising alternative.
Simply use less salt sugar theoretically a good solution, but it takes more work and calculates the right amount of salt required for a given amount of snowfall. It’s more involved than having someone throw salt on it indiscriminateor just pour salt There are trucks on the road. But the problem has been around for about 30 years, so it will take coordination and planning, (and tax dollars) to prevent salt from ending up in Mississippi. The report concluded that the Upper Midwest states would do the right thing rather than the easy thing.
