Ontario Salt
Pollution Coalition
Pursuing provincial action on salt pollution today
for healthy waters into the future
We urgently need a provincial
roadmap to a less salty future.
It’s Salty in ontario.
Many freshwater rivers, lakes, and aquifers are facing
serious, chronic, and rising salt pollution.
Enough time has passed to determine that Canada’s
current Code of Practice and Ontario guidelines on salt
are not adequately protecting water. Salt levels continue
to rise in ground and surface water.
This coalition of concerned individuals, community
groups, and eNGOs have come together to advocate for
improvements to Ontario’s handling of salt pollution.
02
Address the emergent and ongoing harms of winter salt application to water and
water-based ecosystems, including…
- Establishing enforceable maximum salt pollution limits (such as maximum loads standards,
provincial water quality objectives) that are ecologically protective - Remediation of current salt impacts
- Better water quality monitoring (including indicators)
Protect
water now
01
Establish a multistakeholder advisory committee to guide and inform provincial
action on road salt, including…
- Establishing a meaningful regulatory body for road salts in Ontario
- Standardization or codification of Best Management Practices and training requirements for
road salt use and application (such as Smart About Salt) - Exploring limited liability approaches for road salt applicators
- Establishing mechanisms for monitoring ecological and water impacts, reporting water quality
progress, & reviewing data-based policy revision needs
Convene the
experts
03
Commit to substantial salt reduction in the short term, and completely phase
out the use of salts in the long term, in favour of sustainable physical, chemical,
practical, and non-toxic alternatives, including...
- Research on, development of, and implementation of sustainable alternatives to salt
- Implementation of practices that negate the need for chemical solutions (such as requiring
snow tires and increased plowing)
cut the salt
04
Mobilize public funds to support multi-level action on salt pollution issues, including…
- Properly resourcing regulatory, monitoring, and enforcement mechanisms
- Funding water conservation efforts
- Public education
Fund
the change
OSPC
This is our
salt pollution action agenda
for Ontario
In charting a new path forward to address the long-standing impacts of
winter salt application, the Coalition asks the Province of Ontario to:
We call for action
on salt pollution
For the birds. For the fish. For the people. For the land.
For the crops. For the Great Lakes. For the ecosystems.
For all the waters that give us life.
Are you interested in supporting this work? Email
dani@waterwatchers.ca to inquire about joining the coalition!
The Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition
is a working group of individuals,
community groups, and eNGOs who
are unified in our pursuit of
provincial action on salt pollution to
protect water. The coalition is
coordinated by Water Watchers.
Ontario Salt Pollution
Coalition Members
Who we are
Peter Miasek
Norman Yan
Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
Learn more about salt pollution
in Ontario waters and beyond
Water WebinarS: Getting Smart about Salts
Landscape ontario’s snow & ice removal
Policy Paper: “A Call For Change”
Click here to read Landscape
Ontario’s one-page policy brief,
including their industry
perspectives on the needs for
change, why a “limited
liability” approach matters,
and what’s at risk if the
Province of Ontario continues
to do nothing.
Watersheds Canada: Salt Knowledge hub
Hear from experts Shelley Arnott, Lee
Gould, and others to learn about the
problems with winter salt use in
Ontario!
Review Muskoka Conservancy’s
excellent Water Quality webinar,
warning of salt threats & what you can
do to help.
salt doesn’t belong here
Pursuing provincial action on salt pollution today
for healthy water ways into the future
OSPC
Pursuing provincial action on salt pollution today
for healthy water ways into the future
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