“Salt smart” tips to protect the environment
At Columbia Association, keeping the community safe is our top priority during winter weather. We’re also focused on using less salt and encouraging smart salting throughout the community.
Why is salt problematic?
When salt is spread on roads and sidewalks, it doesn’t just disappear once the snow melts. Excess salt takes a real toll on our infrastructure, drinking water and the environment. It’s highly corrosive, which means it can damage bridges, roads and even our vehicles. And once salt enters the environment, it’s considered a “forever pollutant” – incredibly difficult to remove. In fact, just one teaspoon of salt can pollute up to five gallons of water.
Columbia Association’s role
This year, our team members completed Smart Salt training with the Maryland Department of the Environment, and we’re part of a regional salt work group. Reducing salt pollution is also a goal of our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Howard County – which is why you may see pop-up salt awareness events happening around the community.
On the operations side, Columbia Association uses brine instead of granular salt whenever possible. It’s more cost-effective, better for the environment and safer for pets. Brine is applied 24–48 hours before a storm as a preventative measure, helping us keep surfaces safe while using 50% fewer chemicals than in past years.
What can you do?
Reducing salt use is a community effort, and we’re asking residents to do their part in three simple ways:
1. Shovel. Don’t wait till the end of the storm! Start shoveling early and often.
2. Scatter. When it comes to salt, more isn’t better. Salt granules should be an average of inches inches apart. A 10-ounce mug filled with salt is enough to cover 10 sidewalk squares or 20 feet of a single-lane driveway.
3. Sweep. After the storm, remove any excess salt and save it for the next storm event. This helps prevent it from heading down storm drains and polluting the environment.
If you see piles of salt on roadways, paths or in parking lots, please let someone know! We appreciate resident feedback. Here’s how:
- CA pathways or CA facility sidewalks/parking lots: open.space@columbiaassociation.org
- Howard County roadways: Tell HoCo
- Private parking lots: This one is trickier, but check if there is a property management company.
Together, we can make Columbia‘s streams, rivers and lakes more hospitable for wildlife while keeping everyone safe in the snow. This winter season… don’t be salty Columbia, be salt smart!
