Tracking the fate of road salt in watersheds

A common Minnesota winter scene involves seeing a truck distribute road salt on icy roadways. But what happens to the chloride from the salt after the ice melts? A new study headed by researchers at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and funded by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation uses monitoring data collected over the recent past winters to track the journey of chloride through a Twin Cities watershed. The results of the research can help lay the framework for a broader chloride mitigation strategy. Read more in the March 2018 CTS Catalyst.