2001-03-19
.
Ch~
j'D
March 19,2001
RECE\VED
APR 1 1 2001
TOWN CLERK
h;;'.
"'-1,.-' i......
II ~......"'-.,
.1~"""". ~~~.I. '; _........, ./ '~
" .:".
/ '"J ~_'/"
'.." ., ~.'- " \'.'
. ," ~, :'
:J ......:' ..l
(" f " ~,~
oJ/JPE:; , <viji'
r.01 il//(', .
.;1i/~, ')(Jr
. v Or:- 'i;':,' ,
11/1 0;,/",
'" c, -/e
';, 'P/~ I::~
I;/Gt"::b.
"1
10 Dana Place
Wappingers Falls
New York 12590
Ms. Connie Smith, Supervisor
Town ofWappingers
Wappingers Town Hall
Middlebush Road
Wappingers Falls, N.Y. 12590
Dear Ms. Smith:
The attached copy of a Conservation Advisory Council column, which I wrote and which was
published in the February 13,2001 issue of the Southern Dutchess News, discusses the impacts
of road salton aquifers. Although other communities throughout the northern parts ofthe U.S.
have already encountered problems with road salt contamination of aquifers, Wappingers'
apparently has not yet experienced similar difficulties.
I am not certain that there isn't a problem because I have not seen all of the available data and
some of the data necessary for a sound conclusion are simply not available. I have obtained
chloride concentration data for four ofWappingers well systems from Mike Tremper ofCamo
Pollution Control. He has also promised to send me available data for the remaining systems.
The data we need is not available because New York State does not require routine testing for
salt levels (sodium and cWo ride) for our well systems.
The purpose of this letter is to recommend that sufficient tests for chloride concentrations in all
of our water systems be performed to establish a baseline that will enable trends, if any, to be
observed in the concentrations before serious problems are encountered. Such testing should be
conducted at least twice a year for a few years: in March and August would be best. Depending
on cWoride concentration trends, some sodium concentration tests will also be required. Since
cWo ride tests are inexpensive (I understand about $25 each ), not much money need be
expended. With our town completely dependent upon well water, having the tests done is
certainly prudent.
My review of the chemical analysis data for four of the town's wells indicates that cWoride
concentrations in two of them (Wappinger Park and Tall Trees) exceed or are very close to NYS
limits for cWoride. My understanding is that corrective action is being taken for the Wappinger
Park system. Do you know the cause ofthe high levels of cWo ride in the Tall Trees water?
Very~rul,y ours, /"'./ /.
n /4/~n7~~
Matt ~ cMahon, PhD.
Wappingers Conservation Advisory Council
cc: Florence Graff
...
February 13,2001 Southern Dutchess News
Speaking of Conservation
Town ofWappingers Conservation Advisory Council
Road Salt - Where does it go?
The weather channel does a great job of showing us vivid pictures of approaching
snow and ice storms in the winter but the first storm reality we notice is the sound
of large trucks outside our homes distributing salt on our roads. We can laugh or
cry about the sound but road salting allows us Northerners to pursue our normal
lives in the winter with only minor inconveniences on snow days. Undoubtedly,
it makes driving safer and easier and allows us to remain productive all winter but
it's done at the expense of vehicle and bridge corrosion, dying roadside plants and
disintegration of concrete. Not so obvious is where the salt goes after the winter
wanes. Is the salt carried overland or in pipes to streams and rivers within a few
weeks or does it contaminate the ground water?
I thought this an important question because everyone in Wappingers uses water
from wells. Ground water is a river flowing underground through aquifers that
ultimately feeds our wells. And although road salt is mainly sodium cWo ride,
chemically the same as common table salt and usually found in small amounts in
any ground water, it becomes an undesirable contaminant when in excess of
naturally occurring concentrations~ The EP A acceptable cWoride concentration is
250 milligrams per liter and you can taste it at about 500 milligrams per liter.
Camo Pollution Control, which maintains Town ofWappingers wells, supplied
me with available cWo ride concentration data for four ofWappingers water
supply systems. Of these, year-round analyses were available only from one
system that was having problems with high cWoride concentrations attributable to
water softener effluent contamination - not road salt runoff. Clearly, insufficient
data is available to answer my question. Camo personnel explained that cWoride
is not routinely tested for because it is not required by the New York State Health
Department. Neither Dutchess County or New York State could supply any
useful data either but Joe Margolese, head of the New York State DEC office in
Tarrytown, agreed that the issue was worth pursuing and that it might be a good
idea to do the inexpensive tests twice a year, and he would discuss the question
with the New York State Health Department.
An Internet search revealed that several communities throughout northern U.S.
and Canada have experienced road salt contamination of ground water supplies.
Tulsa, Oklahoma - for one - stopped applying road salt because ofthe problem
but returned to using it after a year when the sand that replaced it proved
inadequate. Bow, New Hampshire, is another. Selectmen there have put town
--
roads on a low salt diet because their town has about 35 salt-contaminated wells,
each of which will cost and estimated $10,000 to treat.
A study by the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment reported that in
southern Ontario "only about 45% of the applied road salt runs off; the rest
contaminates shallow aquifers" and that water quality degradation due to road salt
goes unnoticed for years until the problem is really severe. They report that some
characteristics that often predispose an area to potential water quality impairment
due to road salt include regularly salted roadways in association with:
_ permeable soils ( low clay content) that allows salt to filter into aquifers but not
enough rainfall to flush the salt through the soil or aquifer.
- shallow or poorly designed wells
-high gradient slopes over impermeable soils that drain directly into low volume,
slow moving water bodies.
Even though the EP A estimates that real cost of applying road salt approaches
more than 15 times that of purchasing and applying it because of the damage to
cars, roads and bridges, this must be weighed against the prospect ofthe cost of
higher accident rates and injuries that would undoubtedly result on slippery roads
where it was not used. So, there is no easy solution and the use of road salt must
continue. But it appears that the simplest way to mitigate its environmental
impact is to reduce the amount applied.
It is also my view that it would be prudent to have a sufficient number of tests
performed on Wappingers well water throughout the entire year both to determine
whether there are any current problems and to establish a baseline for possible
future trends.
Matt McMahon, PhD. Member Wappinger CAC