A very hygge holiday?

Most often, you experience hygge with a small group of friends or family, possibly in front of a fireplace with warm wooly socks and a steaming drink in hand, but definitely not behind the wheel of a car, careening through rush hour traffic in the middle of an ice storm.

Read More

Salt continues to pollute Minnesota lakes and streams

Once concentrations are high enough, the chloride becomes toxic to fish and invertebrates and can even prevent lakes from turning over the in spring and fall.

Read More

Salt a growing problem for Minnesota’s water

Overall, the MPCA has determined that road salt is responsible for 42% of the chloride in groundwater, lakes and streams. Two other major sources of chloride that are less well-known include agricultural fertilizers (23% of the total chloride) and water softeners, which account for up to 65% of the chloride discharged from municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Read More

Frozen fish and salty toes

One growing concern for urban lakes and streams is pollution from winter road salt. Currently, there are 50 lakes and streams in Minnesota that are listed as impaired due to elevated chlorides and another 75 that are “nearly” impaired.

Read More

Salting the Earth

Dec. 2 presentation will highlight impacts of road salt on local water resources When the City of Carthage fell at the end of the Third Punic War, 146 BC, victorious Romans pulled Phoenecian ships out of the harbor and set them on fire before moving through the city, house to house, rounding up and selling…

Read More

Salt levels are rising in Minnesota waters and it’s not just winter to blame

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency would like you to think about salt, and not just because we saw snow on May 19. As chloride concentrations continue to rise in lakes, rivers, and groundwater around Minnesota, the agency is working with partners to develop a Statewide Chloride Management Plan that will help to keep our freshwater…

Read More

GreenCorps members prescribe a low-salt diet for Minnesota waters

Water softeners are a surprising part of the problem In 1961, the newly elected President John F. Kennedy launched a program to help mitigate poverty around the world and spread American ideas and goodwill. The Peace Corps program immediately captured the attention of young people around the country, and thousands of applications poured in for…

Read More

Local communities working to keep roads safe and water fresh

Almost all of the salt spread on our roads and parking lots eventually migrates to surface or ground waters and like sugar in your morning coffee, once it’s there, it’s almost impossible to remove.

Read More