Salt Sand Snow. Winter Road and Parking Lot Management

Transcription

1 Salt Sand Snow Winter Road and Parking Lot Management OCTOBER 7 TH CITY OF MINNETONKA PUBLIC WORKS ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP This workshop is for local elected and appointed leaders focusing on winter road and parking lot management and the best practices, policies and plans for salt, sand and snow that protect water quality, ensure public safety and efficiently manage financial, equipment and staff resources. This workshop provides an opportunity for local leaders to build their knowledge and learn skills that will assist them in making informed decisions and be better equipped to answer questions from residents, business owners and others about approaches for chloride use and winter road management. WORKSHOP CONTENT The science of salt on ice and snow when it works and when it doesn t. Salt (chloride) pollution in our community s lakes and streams the scope of the problem. Best practices and new technologies for winter road management and the use of salt and sand. Trainings and educational materials available for professionals, staff, and residents. Policies and ordinances for municipal, private and commercial operations and residential applications. AGENDA 5:30 6:00pm Registration, dinner and watershed displays 6:00 Welcome 6:05 6:30 The Science of Salt: How it Works and BMPs for Chloride and Winter Road and Parking Lot Management Carolyn Dindorf 6:30 6:50 Communication, Education and Training: An Overview of Current Efforts and Needs for the Future Erica Sniegowski wq-iw11-06hh Northland NEMO Workshop October

2 Note: All participants will take part in both components in a rotating fashion. Please attend the session assigned to you indicated on your name tag. 6:50 7:15 Group A - Classroom Group B Public Works Shop 7:15 7:45 Group B - Classroom Group A Public Works Shop Classroom Chloride as a practice and as a pollutant; water quality impacts and future policies for chloride use. Presenter: Brooke Asleson Public Works Shop Equipment demonstration and tour Presenter: Darin Ellingson 7:45 8:30 Question & Answer Session followed by Networking ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Workshops presented by University of Minnesota Extension and Sea Grant Programs in partnership with and support from: The NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials) program provides education and training to community leaders including elected and appointed officials and citizen leaders about water resources, the impacts from land use, and strategies for protection and restoration. Goals include providing leaders with knowledge, skills, and research results to assist them in making informed local decisions that support clean water in their communities. Northland NEMO Workshop. October

3 PRESENTER AND RESOURCE CONTACT INFORMATION John Bilotta University of Minnesota Extension Phone Claire Bleser Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District Phone: Carolyn Dindorf Fortin Consulting Inc Phone Michelle Jordan Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District Phone: Erica Sniegowski Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Phone Gael Zembal Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Phone: Brooke Asleson Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Phone Darren Lochner Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Phone: Darin Ellingson City of Minnetonka Public Works Phone: eminnetonka.com Madeline Seveland Carver County Water Management Organization Phone: Laura Jester Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission Phone: Northland NEMO Workshop. October

4 Resources available online MPCA Road Salt and Water Quality website Check out the tabs (listed below) half way down the page for additional resources and the following short videos: Tips (Video) Chloride and our water monitoring in the mix (+3 min) Environmental Concerns Education/Resources (Video) Improved Winter Maintenance: Good Choices for Clean Water (15 min) (Video) Winter Maintenance Training for Small Sites Part 1 (10 min) Training TCMA Chloride Project (Video) Winter Maintenance Training for Small Sites Part 2 (10 min) (Video) How Does Salt Melt Ice? (3 min You Tube video from the American Chemical Society) Your notes and questions here Northland NEMO Workshop October

5 10/8/2015 Salt use and Chlorides in Lakes Comparison of chloride concentrations in 39 TCMA lakes vs. rock salt purchases by State of MN Research by Eric Novotny, Andrew Sander, Omid Mohseni and Heinz Stefan at SAFL, University of Minnesota, and sponsored by LRRB/MNDOT How Salt Works and BMPs for Chloride and Winter Road and Parking Lot Management 349,000 tons/yr TCMA Carolyn Dindorf Fortin Consulting, Inc. Salt acts similar to antifreeze How does salt work? Salt is a freeze point depressant (lowers temp at which water freezes) 1:1 mix antifreeze with water lowers freeze point from +32 F to 40 F Road Salt Video (American Chemical Society) ahaa 1:1 Works best A winter maintenance professional must learn to Apply the right type and amount of materials in the right place at the right time. Lowest practical melting temperature Chemical Lowest Practical Melting Temp. Eutectic Temp. Optimal Concentration Sodium Chloride 15º F -6º F 23% -10º F -28º F 27 to 30% Magnesium Chloride CaCl 2 (Calcium -20º F -60º F 30% Chloride) 20º F -18º F 32% CMA (Calcium Magnesium Acetate) KAc (Potassium Acetate) -15º F -76º F 50% Blends Talk to supplier Talk to supplier Talk to supplier Winter Sand/Abrasives Never melts -- traction only Never melts -- traction only 1

6 10/8/2015 Pavement Temperature º F Speed of Melting One Pound of Salt (NaCl) Melts 46.3 lbs of ice 14.4 lbs of ice 86lb 8.6 lbs of fice 6.3 lbs of ice Melt Times 5 min. 10 min. 20 min. 1 hour What about Additives? Classroom clip art Corn syrup lbs of ice 4.1 lbs of ice 3.7 lbs of ice 3.2 lbs of ice Dry salt is ineffective and will blow away before it melts anything heavenawaits.wordpress.com Molasses Classroom clip art Cheese brine USDA Beet juice Organic additives also have impacts Best Management Practices Why? To reduce salt use More efficient and effective City leaders can help make it possible to adopt these practices Focus on mechanical removal rather than chemical melting- better scraping With this information you can make great decisions! Size of treatment area/route Weather Pavement Temperature Type of de icer Application rate chart Calibration card Unit Numbe Date 9/10/2014 r Pounds Setti Per 5 MPH MPH MPH MPH (X 25 MPH MPH (X 35 MPH ng Minute (X 12) (X 6) (X 4) 3) (X 2.4) 2) (X 1.7) You fill in 5 6 2

7 10/8/2015 Infrared temperature sensors Portable temperature sensors Available at auto part stores ~$75.00 or less Photo: city of Grand Rapids Match deicers to the conditions Salt Storage Impermeable surface Covered Salt and treated sand Get it wet Invest in New Equipment Pretreat Prewet 3

8 10/8/2015 Underbody plow Pre wet tanks Be proactive and anti ice Apply before the storm Usually a liquid Prevents bond from forming Segmented blades Anti icing Ground speed controllers Equipment that allows you to use less salt! Do all streets need the same treatment? Get out early Communicate LOS Crew Public Level of Service Pervious Roads Liquids soak in Waste Tips heard from plow drivers Using up salt in truck so they don t have to empty it back at the shop Applying salt to keep busy Need to give salt time to work Send supervisors to level 1 training We want to try this but our supervisor won t let us Are your staff trained and certified? Smart Salt Training & Certification Level 1 (formerly Level 1 certification in Snow & Ice Best Practices) Smart Salt Training Level 2 (Supervisor) Winter Maintenance Assessment Tool Consider hiring only certified contractors 4

9 10/8/2015 Hire trained sub contractors Contractor shall possess and maintain Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Level 1 Snow and Ice Control Best Practices Certification, and ensure its personnel apply de icing materials accordingly. gy Language from the City of Minneapolis Department of Public Works bid request for the performance of Sidewalk Snow Clearing, Removal and Ice Control within the city of Minneapolis. Make sure your city has a good LOS policy Support equipment upgrades Support trying new technology and techniques Make sure staff are trained (plow drivers and supervisors) Challenge your staff to continue to use less salt Action items for city leaders 5

10

11 Photo by RPBCWD Photo by Janna Kieffer

12 2005, Jackson & Jobbagy, PNAS

13 Family Attached mily and Other Commercial Use Residential Use Industrial Use Commercial and Other rial and Utility tive tional Recreational or Preserve ourse Highway y t ltural eloped Trends tead Increasing nal/vacation No Change Family Detached actured Housing Park Not Enough Data The trend toward increased Copysalinity of urban lakes appears to be strongest in inner city lakes (Novotny et al. 2007) Minnetonka Minneapolis Bloomington

14

15

16 Winter Maintenance on School Grounds Erica Sniegowski, Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Craig Nordstrom, Bloomington Public Schools (Retired) Joe Morin, SFM

17

18

19

20

21 Too much salt!

22

23

24

25

26 Bloomington Public Schools Salt Use Data Season Application Amount and Material Type tons of sand/salt mix tons of sand/salt mix tons of salt 1,363.5 gallons of brine (equivalent to about 1.7 tons of salt) Over 50% Reduction

27

28 Chloride - Water Quality Impacts and Future Policies Brooke Asleson Minnesota Pollution Control Agency NEMO WINTER ROADS WORKSHOP OCTOBER 7, 2015

29 Chloride & Water Quality

30 What s the problem with salt? Chloride is a permanent pollutant o Cannot be treated or filtered with traditional BMPs 78% of the chloride applied in the TCMA is retained here (Stefan et al. 2008) Chloride concentrations in streams in the Northern US have approximately doubled from (Corsi et al. 2015) Contaminates groundwater 1 tsp. of road salt pollutes 5 gallons of water

31 What s the problem with salt? Chloride is toxic to aquatic life o o 230 mg/l- long-term 860 mg/l- short-term Chloride can disrupt the natural mixing process in lakes Impacts vegetation and wildlife Corrodes road surfaces/bridges and damages reinforcing rods Potential human consumption concerns

32 Sources of Chloride

33 Public Safety: Winter Salt Safe roads, parking lots and sidewalks are essential o Public expectations are difficult to meet Currently no alternative de-icer without negative impacts to the environment Fear of slip and fall lawsuits 349,000* tons of salt applied each year in the TCMA (*purchasing records)

34 Chloride in the TCMA

35 Chloride in Surface Waters 19 lakes, 14 streams and 4 wetlands impaired for chloride in the TCMA cityparksblog.org 39 waters determined to be High Risk in the TCMA o Values 207 mg/l or at least one exceedance Increase in chloride in Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers (Metropolitan Council 2014) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/interstate_park

36

37 Chloride in Groundwater Shallow groundwater in the TCMA is impacted by high chloride concentrations 30% of shallow monitoring wells in the TCMA above standard About one-third of wells showed increased concentrations over time Impact on baseflow concentrations in surface waters Land Use Chloride (mg/l) Residential 45 Commercial/ Industrial 60 Undeveloped 15

38

39 TCMA Chloride Management Plan

40 Goal of the CMP

41 Inter-Agency Advisory Team MPCA, MnDOT, Met Council, BWSR, DNR, USGS, Dept. of Health, U of M Monitoring Sub-Group MPCA, DNR, Met Council, USGS, local partners Implementation Plan Committee Winter Maintenance Professionals, Cities, Counties, MnDOT, WMOs/WDs MPCA project team Technical Advisory Committee WMOs, WDs, Cities, Counties, MnDOT Technical Expert Group Hands-on road salt applicators and suppliers Outreach Group WMOs, WDs, MS4s, road salt applicators, Citizens Education & Outreach Committee MPCA, MnDOT & local education specialists

42 Protection and Restoration Strategy Prevention is the ONLY option for reducing salt Goal is for all winter maintenance programs to perform at a level that is using minimal amount of salt Set water quality goals for point sources to work towards Allow flexibility in implementation

43 Overall Chloride Reduction Strategy Provide high level strategies for reducing chloride Winter Maintenance Assessment tool to allow for detailed BMP selection tailored to each program Included some tried & true BMPs for consideration Offer non-traditional strategies for consideration Provide suggested training opportunities Considerations for private applicators Discussion on Citizens Attitudes & Practices Includes Education & Outreach resources

44 TCMA CMP Performance-Based Implementation Audience years 1-2 years 3-5 years 6-10 Beyond year 10 Winter Maintenance - Review responsibilities - Follow plan - Re-assess - Re-assess Leadership (state, county, city, - Develop policies - Share successes operations operations schools, private): those not - Assess the situation - Revise goals - Revise goals involved in day to day - Create goals - Continue to - Continue to operations of maintenance - Set priorities implement implement crew. - Implement changes changes changes - Use WMAt - Share successes - Share successes. Winter Maintenance Professionals (state, county, city, schools, private): plow drivers, mechanics, supervisors of crew. - Attend training - Keep an open mind towards change - Look for ways to make salt use more efficient - Use WMAt tool - Create list with your desired changes - Prioritize your action plan - Implement changes - Use less salt Municipalities - Create a plan - Start implementing the plan - Track progress - Use the WMAt - Prioritize actions - Continue monitoring Citizens - Follow recommendations - Use less salt - Encourage others to use less salt - Follow plan - Eliminate poor practices - Share successes - Use less salt - Follow plan - Continue to improve practices - MS4s report progress to MPCA - Reduce salt use - Encourage others to reduce salt use - Re-assess operations - Adjust goals - Follow plan - Eliminate all poor practices - Share successes - Use less salt - Review and revise plan - Continue to improve practices - MS4s report progress to MPCA - Reduce salt use - Encourage others to reduce salt use. - Re-assess operations - Revise goals - Continue to implement changes - Share successes - Use less salt - Follow plan - Continue to improve practices - MS4s report progress to MPCA - Continue to reduce salt use. Policy Makers (city, county, state, other) - Understand why we use salt - Understand what the options are for lower salt use - Improve policy - Improve policy - Improve policy

45 Chloride Reduction Strategies: Winter Maintenance Practices Shift from granular to liquids Improved physical snow removal Snow and ice pavement bond prevention Training for maintenance professionals Education for the public and elected officials Winter Maintenance Assessment tool

46 Chloride Reduction Strategies: Non-Traditional Winter Maintenance Practices Adopt a lower level of service Alternative pavement types/infrastructure changes Driver Behavior Changes Non-chloride deicers perviouspavement.org

47 Case Studies University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Made changes to winter maintenance program 2006 Material Use (tons/yr) Use (tons/yr) Reduction Rock Salt % ( ) ( ) ICE MELT % (MgCl2) ( ) ( ) ICE MELT % (MgCl2 - CaCl2) ( ) ( ) Sand % ( ) ( ) purchased new equipment for ~ $10,000 saved $55,000 the first year the BMPs were implemented City of Waconia 2010 updated Snow and Ice Policy to a Winter Maintenance Policy proactive focus opposed to reactive Addition of ordinances reflective of policy guidelines Calibration and equipment changes resulted in 70% reduction in rates Addition of pre-wet practices and material savings results in yearly $8,600 cost savings

48 Winter Maintenance Assessment tool (WMAt)

49 Winter Maintenance Assessment tool Goal of tool is to assist winter maintenance organizations to: Document current practices Chart a path towards salt reduction Develop a strategy unique to operation Evaluate small areas of winter maintenance Provide insight into current operations Shows user recommended practices (learning tool) Allow a flexible approach for implementing BMPs

50 City #

51

52

53 Utilizing WMAt reports Show progress made to date Identify areas for improvement Educational opportunity for operators Track goals and progress in achieving Assist with MS4 permit requirements

54 Chloride Reduction Policies/Actions

55 EXAMPLE: YEARS 1-2 Partner with the MPCA to offer the Smart Salting winter maintenance training for local private and public winter maintenance professionals each winter. Educate 50% of constituents on the benefits of smart salt use. Create awareness about the environmental impacts of chloride through education, outreach, and other activities to local residents, applicators, elected officials and businesses. Monitor local surface waters for chloride concentrations to track trends, track progress and understand the movement of chloride through the watershed. Develop incentive based program for chloride reduction strategies. Host yearly workshops for local winter maintenance professionals to encourage the use of the WMAt and track progress of BMPs implemented. Provide a measuring cup type salt scooper to homeowners and small businesses at the point of sale of salt in order to raise awareness of the amount of salt they are using. WMOs/WDs, Environmental Organizations and Institutions, and Educators

56 EXAMPLE: YEARS 1-2 Better understand environmental impacts of salt use and ways the constituents contribute. Understand options for reducing chloride use. Support the implementation of the TCMA CMP. Develop a limited liability law to protect private contractors from being sued if they are following BMPs, similar to New Hampshire. Fear of law suits often drives over application of salt. Create an ordinance for city that all salt and salt/sand piles must be store indoors and on an impermeable surface. Discuss lower levels of service with constituents. Policy Makers

57 EXAMPLE: YEARS 3-5 Require certification of salt applicators similar to the Department of Agriculture s pesticide applicator certification program. Require all new construction to have irrigation water and drinking water plumbed so as to not pass through the water softening Require water softeners that recharge by the time of day and not by the salinity of water be banned from sale. Provide funding to various state agencies to support local implementation of salt reduction practices. Policy Makers

58 Chloride Policies: EQB Water Policy Report

59 Voluntary Solutions Pollution prevention is the ONLY option for reducing salt MPCA Smart Salting Training highly successful & in demand Balances water quality & public safety 50-70% salt reductions (bonus cost savings!) Limited funding & resources Current funding through Aug Focus primarily in TCMA currently due to resources Model training being used by other states!

60 Regulatory Solutions Private applicator account for anywhere from 5-45% of salt applied Challenging sector to engage: Difficult to Id & contact No requirements to apply salt Fear of slip and fall lawsuits barrier to reduce salt use New Hampshire passed limited liability law in 2013 in response to 1 chloride TMDL

61 Visit the Road Salt & Water Quality website: ams/roadsalt.html Follow me on Brooke Asleson Watershed Project Manager 651/