Salinity and pH of Nearby Freshwater Puddles and Snow were Unaltered After Roads Have Been De-Iced

Abstract

Road salt has been widely used as a deicing agent during winter, but concerns have been raised about its potential impacts on freshwater ecosystems. Road salts can negatively impact freshwater ecosystems by increasing the salinity levels, which can harm or kill aquatic organisms and alter the composition of the food chain. Additionally, road salts can also affect the water quality and decrease biodiversity in the affected areas. In this study, we investigated the effects of road salt on nearby freshwater puddles to determine if road salting influences the salinity and pH of nearby puddles. We hypothesised that de-icing roads by means of salting would increase the salt concentrations in nearby puddles significantly. We measured pH and salinity immediately after deicing measures were implemented. We sampled water from puddles of 5 different locations of varying distances near main roads that were visibly salted. Contrary to our hypothesis, our results did not show a significant correlation between salinity levels and distance from the road. The measured pH levels were also not significantly correlated with distance from the road.