‘Salty’ water in Muskoka raising concerns

Friends of Muskoka Watershed are raising awareness of just how much chloride is being discovered in Muskoka lakes.

Volunteers have been taking samples from culverts, ditches and waterways every two weeks. Water samples typically take five to ten minutes and then are inserted into a database for research purposes.

Alesha Breckenridge, the project lead, said the results have been shown the amounts of chloride rising in recent years.

“So, we actually have enough data now to show a trend in chloride going up in all the 25 per cent of recreational lakes here in Muskoka,” said Breckenridge. “It became worrisome because we’re in soft water, watershed and chloride is particularly harmful in soft water.”

The culprit? Roadside salt but Friends of Muskoka Watershed aren’t putting the blame solely on the township. They say private driveways, parking lots and sidewalks are also the problem.

“We want to focus on what we think is the roughly 20 per cent of the problem, which is sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and walkways. They’re kind of a little bit more unregulated,” said Breckenridge.

Data collected by the group shows chloride increasing since the 1970’s.

The chloride continues to dilute once in larger bodies of water, but samples taken near culverts, ditches and storm water drains show high levels.

According to scientist Neil Hutchinson, in 2001 the federal government declared road salt to be a hazardous substance and said 120 parts per million was a safe level for road salt exposure. The tests were done in different levels of hard water. With softer water in Muskoka, Hutchinson believes that 10 milligrams per litre would be a more accurate safe level, with 20 milligrams per litre is concerning.

“We are about 18 (milligrams per litre) at Gravenhurst Bay and then we have other lakes in Muskoka which exceed that,” said Hutchinson. “The highest one is just outside Gravenhurst, and it’s about 115 parts per million.”

And thanks to a grant, Friends of Muskoka Watershed will now be expanding their research to the Lake of Bays, continuing to raise awareness of just how salt one should be using for their driveways and sidewalks.

Breckenridge added one 12-ounce cup should be enough salt to cover a standard one car driveway, while one tablespoon should be enough to cover one square on a sidewalk.

The District of Muskoka used 5,000 tonnes of salt last year and are keeping a close eye when it comes to just how much salt is being put on the roads.

James Steele, commissioner of engineering and public works for the District of Muskoka, said the Township uses a simple rule when it comes to deploying salt.

“We use the three r’s, so the right place, the right time with the right quantity. And that’s based on our patrols we look at, where we need to apply salt, but also make sure that we’re measuring the quantity,” said Steele.

Steele added the township is adapting and continuing to find ways to use the appropriate amount of salt.

“Ten years ago, it was folks driving the roads saying, I think we need to apply salt, we need to plow here, we need to plow there,” said Steele. “In the last few years, we’ve implemented better monitoring and they call them road weather information systems. And we use that data to say, okay, this road needs to be treated sooner rather than later.”

For those interested in sampling water for chloride, you can order your own kit from Water Rangers.