More on calcium chloride

   After reading Mr. Melby’s recent letter arguing for the use of road salt on township roads I find a response is necessary. 

   As part of a coalition of MN non-profit groups, I have helped conduct free water testing clinics where we test for nitrates and chlorides. We are finding impacts from fertilizers, pesticides, softener salt and road salt on people’s drinking water and the biology of aquatic systems. As a cumulative contaminant salt is a problem that should be obvious to everyone. State agencies are currently working on reducing salt use and hold many clinics each year specifically for that reason. As a plumber, I also recommend that we move away from using both softener salt and road salt asap. Many alternatives exist.

   I have seen the Woodrow Township 4 (17th Ave) corner/hill wash in my years and everything moves toward the river. With the amount of vehicle traffic being relatively high, tar may be a good idea. This may also be a good place to apply for grant monies to control runoff to a pristine river in a headwaters area (I do enjoy ricing in those waters and sucker spearing).  Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District is a great local resource available for these types of endeavors.

Mike Tauber

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