Watch the salt! On your street and in your drinking water?
It's road salt time again. Beware!
- Useful Montgomery County links: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/snow/index.html
- https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/snow/snow-faq.html
How soon after a snowstorm do we expect our local roads to be passable, and major roads to be at speed? During COVID, we've learned to slow down some, so perhaps now we can patiently wait for the roads to be cleared--to the great benefit of our plants, wildlife, and water if less road salt can be used.
What's the problem?
As winter snow melts, stormwater carries accumulated salt into stormdrains and lakes, ponds, drinking water reservoirs and streams. And road salt and sand really do a number on us in multiple ways. It
- Threatens aquatic life sensitive to salt levels.
- Infiltrates groundwater, which can then flow into surface water.
- Leaches into the ground and changes the soil composition, making it hard for plants to survive.
- Damages vegetation and soils along the shoulders of roads, causing erosion.
- Deteriorates paved surfaces, buildings and infrastructure. Rusts rebar, which expands, cracking the surrounding concrete.
- Clogs stormwater catch basins and fills streambeds, with potential for flooding.
- Accumulates in drinking water reservoirs near highways and salt storage areas. Sodium contributes to cardiovascular, kidney and liver diseases and is directly linked to high blood pressure. Chloride can add a salty taste to water and corrode pipes.
What can we do?
- Clear walkways and other areas before the snow turns to ice and reduce the need for chemical deicers.
- Track the weather and only apply deicers when a storm is imminent. If a winter storm does not occur, sweep and store it for later use.
- Only use deicers in critical areas and apply the least amount necessary to get the job done. A cupful should well cover the sidewalk.
- Store deicing materials in a dry, covered area to prevent runoff.
- Reduce salt use by adding sand for traction, but take care to avoid clogging storm drains.
- If your source of drinking water is from your own private well, avoid applying salt near the well head.
- Don’t use urea-based fertilizers as melting agents. Runoff can increase nutrient pollution.
- Use calcium magnesium acetate instead of salt.
- If you see piles of salt left from Montgomery County's salt trucks, CALL 311 and the county will come pick it up.
- And finally, unless you're urgently needed at work (doctor, for instance), how about just enjoying the snow for a while before hitting the roads? Then the road crews will have time to do a more careful, less salty, job.
- Your thoughts and suggestions?
Presentation - Feb 2, 2021
Role of Montgomery Parks in Monitoring and Protecting the NWB
The program covered biological monitoring background and long-term monitoring results; stream restoration project updates, especially focused on the Glenallan Tributary to the NWB; other stormwater mitigation & water quality enhancement efforts; and volunteer services updates. Our presenters were Rachel Gauza, Biological Monitoring Program Coordinator; Erin McArdle, P.E., Environmental Engineer; Jackie Hoban, Senior Natural Resources Specialist; and Valeria Espinoza, Stream & Parks Cleanup Coordinator. Doug Stephens, Principal Natural Resources Specialist, kept an eye on the chat questions and provided answers. A YouTube video of the presentation is linked here.
Presentation: Finding Nature's Secret Garden, 3/30/21
Maryland Master Naturalist Paula Wang
gave us a virtual preview of the short-lived woodland treasures along the Northwest Branch and other local trails. She included key identification features, medicinal uses, and folklore associated with these spring ephemeral visual treats. She shared just where to find whole arrays of flowers--and also warned of the inroads being made by non-native invasives such as Lesser Celandine. The trail guide she mentioned in her talk and the slides she used can be downloaded below. If you want to review the entire presentation, check out the YouTube (below, or click on Spring Beauties). Toward the end of the presentation, you'll hear a variety of frog calls, identified. Enjoy! And then get out on the trails very soon, before many of these flowers are gone.
Presentation- Dec. 1, 2020
The Forest in Winter: What to watch for
On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Maryland Master Naturalist and science educator Paula Wang treated us to a virtual look around the winter forest, and my oh my, what we've been missing! Winter has its own interesting natural phenomena--among the trees, on the forest floor, and birds you can actually see now that the leaves are gone. Paula captured it all in pictures. If you missed the program, or would like to review, you can find a video of the complete presentation, courtesy of NNWB member Ed Murtagh, here. To review a particular slide, pause the video. Enjoy your winter walks with new powers of observation!
Winter cleanup at Burnt Mills 1/6/21
Dismayed by Ed Murtagh's video of largely street runoff litter, NNWB members Kem Morawski, Anne Ambler, and Scott Zillmer joined Ed in de-littering both sides of the NWB downstream of Colesville Rd. The action greatly improved, at least temporarily, this otherwise beautiful area. The cleanup was a spur-of-the-moment affair, not an official MoCo Parks cleanup, so we used our own equipment. Photo by Ed Murtagh, 1/6/21.