A report released late last year focusing on the Adirondack region of the state could put local roads on a low-salt diet.

After two years of delays, the state received a report by the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force in December. That report, focused on the health of Adirondack Park, calls for the development of several new ways to clear roads in the winter in the Adirondack region, including managing “cold spots” through selective vegetation management as an alternative to excessive road salt, another to investigate chloride-free deicing alternatives, and another to create weather warning signage telling motorists to reduce their speed in areas where road salt application is reduced.

The report also proposes “chloride-free zones” be established in areas near Mirror Lake in Lake Placid and around Lake Clear to test using alternatives in low traffic areas and research the change in environmental impact. It also suggests testing out seasonal speed reduction zones with signs warning motorists, but did not list areas where these could be implemented. One thing the group suggests is maintaining roads better. A road free of potholes is easier to clear of snow than one full of surface deficiencies.

Legislation creating a statewide task force that would build off the Adirondack report passed the state Senate in late June, but was not taken up by the state Assembly before the legislative session ended. State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, was one of those who voted against S.9658 – though his vote could change if the bill is amended when it comes back to the legislature next year.

“The issue of road salt when it comes to inland waterways has been an issue for a long time going back to my days as a county legislator,” Borrello said. “I represent several inland lakes, as do many of my Republican colleagues. Unfortunately this does not include any appointment from my Republican colleagues so most of the lakes that are stressed and impacted potentially by road salt will not have a representative from the minority conference. Now you might say, ‘Well, there are some lake groups that are in your districts.’ But sometimes lake groups don’t have the balanced approach that we need for something asimportant to decide whether we’re going to sacrifice public safety for environmental safety, so I’ll be going to vote no on this bill until it’s more balanced.”

While most monitored waterbodies in the Adirondack Park met existing regulatory guidelines for contaminants typically found near road salt applications, a limited number exceeded regulatory guidelines for human and environmental health.

The report says task force members with subject matter expertise found that more recent scientific literature shows that existing state and federal water quality standards are not protective enough for the Adirondack Park’s sensitive ecosystem, and that the park might require more protective limitations to prevent further deterioration of water, wildlife and environment.

The report recommends establishing new standards and guidelines, saying the state should adopt the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s chloride water quality criteria to establish a minimum level for protection from salt contamination for aquatic life, and establish a targeted road salt reduction goal of 40 mg/L concentration of chloride in most lakes.

An estimated 16,985 Adirondack homeowners — 31% of them — may be experiencing corrosive damage to plumbing, fixtures, and connected appliances from sodium in their well water, according to the report. Most of these homes — 73% of them — were built before lead was prohibited on plumbing, so road salt infiltration may corrode harmful lead into their drinking water.

A 2019 study by the Adirondack Watershed Institute found that of 500 Adirondacks wells tested, 64% of those downhill from state roads were found to have sodium levels exceeding the federally recommended health limit.

In the Adirondack source water supplies, 5% of the groundwater sampling locations exceeded the water quality standard for chloride. None of the surface water locations did.

State Sen. Pete Harckham, D-Peekskill, wrote in his legislative justification that the effects of road salt on drinking water sources is a statewide issue that requires more study.

“The alarming increase in salinity has also led to acidification in streams, mobilization of toxic metals, and allowed for invasive saltwater species while increasing stress and mortality of freshwater organisms. Numerous studies identify road salt as a primary driver of freshwater salinization nationwide,” Harckham wrote. “This legislation establishes a council and advisory committee, composed of stakeholders and the state’s brightest minds, to monitor and combat road salt threatening our drinking water supply and magnificent ecosystems.”