14 TH ANNUAL ROAD SALT SYMPOSIUM FEBRUARY 5, 2015 Twin Cities Metro Area CHLORIDE PROJECT Brooke Asleson Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Chloride & Water Quality

Water Quality Concerns Chloride is toxic to aquatic life  230mg/L Chronic, 860 mg/L Acute Chloride is a permanent pollutant, once in our surface waters there is no feasible way to remove it University of Minnesota study found that 78% of the chloride used is being retained in the TCMA At high concentrations can disrupt lakes natural mixing process Costly to treat contaminated groundwater for drinking purposes Removal of chloride in wastewater effluent is cost-prohibitive for most publically owned facilities

Water Quality Conditions 37 lakes, streams & wetlands on DRAFT 303(d) list for chloride in the TCMA (roughly 10% assessed) – 2 Chloride TMDLs completed 41 waters determined to be “High Risk” in TCMA Defined as having values within 10% of the standard or at least one exceedance of the standard Groundwater levels of chloride in the TCMA are increasing 30% of wells above the standard Impact on baseflow levels of chloride is important USGS groundwater data also shows Significant increase in chloride since 1996 in Upper Mississippi River Basin Metropolitan trend analysis for the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers in TCMA all show increases in chloride (compared to the 10 year average)

Monitoring Results – Interactive Map

Public Concerns 365,000* tons of road salt are applied in TCMA each year We need safe roads, parking lots and sidewalks in winter months Currently no alternative de-icer without negative impacts to the environment Applied at all levels; State, County, City, Businesses/Schools/Churches and Homeowners Private applicators up against fear of slip & fall lawsuits – default is to apply more product Public expectations are difficult to meet Individual water softeners are used in many households without much thought given to amount of salt used *this is an estimate based on purchasing records

TCMA Chloride Project

Develop Chloride Management Plan for the 7-county metro (project began 2010, draft plan Oct. 2014) :  Create shared vision & develop partnerships  Evaluate existing water quality conditions  Identify sources of chloride in TCMA  Set realistic goals to protect all surface waters  Complete Chloride TMDLs for all impaired waters in TCMA  Layout flexible implementation strategies that will help achieve water quality goals  Provide resources to assist with implementation and tracking progress

MPCA project team Inter-Agency Advisory Team MPCA, MnDOT, Met Council, BWSR, DNR, USGS, Dept. of Health, U of M Technical Advisory Committee WMOs, WDs, Cities, Counties, MnDOT Outreach Group WMOs, WDs, MS4s, road salt applicators, Citizens Implementation Plan Committee Winter Maintenance Professionals, Cities, Counties, MnDOT, WMOs/WDs Education & Outreach Committee MPCA, MnDOT & local education specialists Monitoring Sub-Group MPCA, DNR, Met Council, USGS, local partners Technical Expert Group Hands-on road salt applicators and suppliers

TCMA Chloride Management Plan

Goal of the CMP

Chloride Sources Winter Maintenance Activities Roads Parking Lots Driveways Sidewalks Salt Storage Other Dust suppressants Fertilizers Land application Municipal and Industrial Point Sources Municipal wastewater Municipal water treatment Industrial wastewater Lakes & Streams Surface Runoff Groundwater Publicly Owned Treatment Works Septic Systems Residential Water Softeners Direct Discharge

LakeWBID Watershed Area (ac) TMDL and Components (all values in lbs/yr of chloride) TMDLWLALA Margin of Safety MS4 Categorical WastewaterNon-Permitted Natural Background Battle Creek Lake ,3262,153,6981,766,033172,296215,370 Brownie Lake ,812216,32621,10526,381 Carver Lake ,2421,071,124878,32185,690107,112 Como ,850994,078815,14479,52699,408 Diamond Lake (wetland) ,017398,53438,88148,602 Kasota Ponds North (wetland) ,0702,250,6901,845,566180,055225,069 Kasota Ponds South (wetland) ,0702,250,6901,845,566180,055225,069 Kohlman Lake ,5334,839,1833,106,7331,050,484303,096378,870 Little Johanna Lake ,7031,224,2431,003,87997,939122,424 Long Lake (South) ,78526,334,62421,534,2614,03056,8262,106,4482,633,059 Loring Pond (South Bay) ,7648, Mallard Marsh (wetland) ,0702,250,6901,845,566180,055225,069 Parkers Lake ,0641,431,262528,161787,16351,52864,410 Peavey Lake ,995165,8893,69216,18420,230 Pike Lake ,7353,591,2682,943,9711,059287,217359,021 Powderhorn Lake ,587179,24217,48721,859 Silver Lake ,011303,40929,60137,001 Spring Lake ,26436,2963,5414,426 Sweeney Lake ,4391,456,2711,194,142116,502145,627 Tanners Lake ,732826,520677,74666,12282,652 Thompson Lake ,340110,15910,74713,434 Valentine Lake ,4041,165,072955,35993,206116,507 Wirth ,095,000897,90087,600109,500

Protection & Restoration Strategy Same BMPs for protection as for impaired waters Reduce chloride at the source Performance Based Approach: Goal is to get all winter maintenance programs performing at a level that is using minimal amount of salt Set water quality goals for municipal and industrial sources to work towards meeting Allow flexibility in implementation

Overall Chloride Reduction Strategy Provide high level strategies for reducing chloride Winter Maintenance Assessment tool to allow for detailed BMP selection tailored to each program Included some tried & true BMPs for consideration Offer non-traditional strategies for consideration Provide suggested training opportunities Considerations for private applicators Discussion on Citizens Attitudes & Practices Includes Education & Outreach resources

TCMA CMP Performance Based Implementation Audienceyears 1-2years 3-5years 6-10Beyond year 10 Winter Maintenance Leadership (state, county, city, schools, private) Those not involved in day to day operations of maintenance crew. - Become educated - Review responsibilities - Develop policies - Assess the situation - Create goals - Set priorities - Implement changes - Follow you plan - Share your successes - Re-assess your operations - Revise goals - Continue to implement changes - Share your successes - Re-assess your operations - Revise goals - Continue to implement changes - Share your successes. Winter Maintenance Professionals (state, county, city, schools, private) Plow drivers, mechanics, supervisors of crew. - Become educated - Attend training - Keep an open mind towards change - Look for ways to make salt use more efficient - Use WMAt tool - List with your desired changes - Prioritize your action plan - Implement changes - Follow your plan - Eliminate poor practices - Share your successes - Re-assess your operations - Adjust your goals - Follow your plan - Eliminate all poor practices - Share your successes - Re-assess your operations - Revise goals - Continue to implement changes - Share your successes WMOs/WDs, Environmental Organizations and Institutions, and Educators - Modify plan - Become educated - Put salt education and outreach goals in your operating plans - Develop/modify grant program - Develop a cost share program - If you already have a grant program, modify - Implement plan - Educate - Implement plan - Educate - Review and revise your outreach plan - Continue to educate - Encourage testing of new technologies Citizens - Become educated - Follow advice - Encourage others to use less salt - Reduce salt use - Encourage others to reduce salt use - Reduce salt use - Encourage others to reduce salt use. - Continue to reduce salt use. Policy Makers (city, county, state, other) - Read the TCMA management plan - Become educated - Understand why we use salt - Understand what the options are for lower salt use - Improve policy

Example Activities – Winter Maintenance Leadership

Chloride Reduction Strategies: Traditional Winter Maintenance Practices Shift from granular to liquids Improved physical snow removal Snow and ice pavement bond prevention Training for maintenance professionals Education for the public and elected officials Use Winter Maintenance Assessment tool

Chloride Reduction Strategies: Non- Traditional Winter Maintenance Practices Adopt a lower level of service  Primary challenges: public acceptance, unknown cost of longer commute times and less safe travel conditions  Benefits: technically easy to implement, immediate reduction chloride & cost savings in salt purchases Alternative pavement types/Infrastructure changes  Primary challenges: cost, and significant amount of time to implement  Benefits: no significant change in public expectations Driver Behavior Changes  Primary challenges: wide spread changes from the public, increase wear on roads  Benefits: allows for easier continued reduction in road salt use Non-chloride deicers  Primary challenges: likely increased cost for deicers, and unknown environmental consequences  Benefits: no significant change in public expectations, easy to implement

Case Studies University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Made changes to winter maintenance program 2006 purchased new equipment for ~ $10,000 saved $55,000 the first year the BMPs were implemented MaterialUse (tons/yr) Reduction Rock Salt % ( )( ) ICE MELT % (MgCl2)( )( ) ICE MELT % (MgCl2 - CaCl2)( )( ) Sand % ( )( ) City of Waconia 2010 updated “Snow and Ice Policy” to a “Winter Maintenance Policy” – proactive focus opposed to reactive Addition of ordinances reflective of policy guidelines Calibration and equipment changes resulted in 70% reduction in rates Addition of pre-wet practices and material savings results in yearly $8,600 cost savings

Funding Opportunities Monitoring Recommendations  Collect samples during the critical periods:  Lakes: January - May  Streams: December - April  In lakes with potential for stratification, collect a bottom and surface sample Research Needs  Chloride reductions when implementing BMPs  Environmental impacts of non-chloride de-icers  Citizen attitudes and practices around the use of chloride  Pavement Alternatives Other Key Elements of CMP

Winter Maintenance Assessment tool (WMAt)

Assist winter maintenance organizations to: Document their current practices Chart a path towards salt reduction Develop a strategy unique to their operation Evaluate small areas of winter maintenance Provide insight into current operations Shows user recommended practices (learning tool) Allow a flexible approach for implementing BMPs Winter Maintenance Assessment tool

Completing an Assessment Report Link Link to User’s Home Page Questionnaire Sections (each section has multiple questions)

City #

Next Steps

Chloride Management Plan Timeline MPCA review of Draft TCMA chloride management plan & TMDL – Feb Expect public review - Spring 2015 Approved CMP & TMDL - Summer 2015? Test Winter Maintenance Assessment tool – Spring 2015 Pilot Level 2 Training coming - Spring 2015 Implementation of plan already underway – THANK YOU!!

Visit the Road Salt & Water Quality website: ams/roadsalt.html Follow me on Brooke Asleson Watershed Project Manager 651/ THANK YOU for being part of the solution!