Winter Salt Awareness Week 2025 is the last week in January (January 27-31) and aims to raise awareness around salt pollution and reduction solutions. Winter Salt Awareness Week is a collaboration of governmental and non-governmental organizations across the United States and Canada. Here in New Hampshire the Green Mountain Conservation Group (GMCG) and NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) are supporting this effort to inform the public, including road agents, public works departments, town officials, private contractors and businesses, about how best practices in snow can better protect freshwater resources.
Each winter 20-30 million tons of road salt are used in our country and all the salt that we apply to streets and sidewalks ends up in our freshwater. Salt pollution is impacting lakes, streams, and drinking water. The cost of vehicle corrosion, extra road maintenance, tree damage, and infrastructure damage is estimated to be $3,140/ton of salt. Nationally, that works out to over $60 billion each year. By implementing best practices and new technologies, public agencies and private businesses are reducing salt use by 30-50%. GMCG launched the Salt Responsibly campaign in January 2022 to inform NH residents about the harm caused by road salts and to provide guidance on ways to reduce the amount of salt that is contaminating New Hampshire’s waterways and water supply. Listen for our new PSAs being broadcast on radio airwaves across New Hampshire this winter.
Winter Salt Awareness Week will feature daily live streams with speakers from across the country, including many from New Hampshire, who are working on this issue. Learn about water quality research findings and impacts to fish, wildlife and human health as well as how state and local agency staff are successfully transitioning to newer technologies and adopting policy changes and reduction programs such as the New Hampshire Green SnowPro program. WI Salt Wise has created a website specifically for the week where anyone can sign up for daily live streams: https://wintersaltweek.org/
Please spread the word! Visit GMCG’s website, saltresponsibly.com, FMI on our research and education efforts on the topic.
