Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition
Pursuing provincial action on salt pollution today
for healthy waters into the 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.
We urgently need a provincial roadmap to a less salty future.
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:
01
Convene the experts
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
02
Protect
water now
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)
03
cut the salt
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)
04
Fund
the change
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
OSPC
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.
We call for action on salt pollution
Who we are
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
Peter Miasek
Norman Yan
Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
Are you interested in supporting this work? Email dani@waterwatchers.ca to inquire about joining the coalition!
Learn more about salt pollution
in Ontario waters and beyond
Watersheds Canada: Salt Knowledge hub
Water WebinarS: Getting Smart about Salts
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.
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.
salt doesn’t belong here
OSPC
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