Seasonal Yard Care

Help keep winter salt and sand out of local waterways

Check out this new video on salt use for sidewalks and parking lots:

Video - Part 1 Video - Part 2 

Read these Tips for homeowners

Road salt poses one of the larger threats to water quality during the winter. Salt splashed from the road kills nearby vegetation and can leave a border of dead and dying trees and shrubs along major roadways. Excess sodium from the most commonly used road salt, sodium chloride, destroys soil structure, which reduces its ability to retain water and increases the amount of erosion. Both sodium and chloride can also leach into subsurface groundwater supplies, impacting the water we drink. Many cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul included, have begun to experiment with other, less harmful chemicals to keep winter roads ice-free. They are also beginning to apply road salt more methodically, pre-treating major roads before a storm hits and applying only enough salt to keep ice from building up.  

Tips for homeowners

At your home, you can prevent pollution to local lakes and rivers by limiting the amount of salt and deicers you use on your driveways and sidewalks. One teaspoon of salt can contaminate five gallons of water!

As a rule of thumb, if there is a layer of salt remaining on your driveway after the ice melts, you used too much salt. If you do have excess sand or salt, sweep it up and throw it away so that it is not washed into the storm sewer or a nearby lake.

The earlier you shovel after a snowfall, the less likely you are to need salt.

Consider using an anti-icing agent before it snows. It will prevent the snow from bonding with the pavement and speed the melting process.

Minnesota Local Technical Assistance Program - Snow and Ice Control

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