Too much road salt in Windham hurting aquatic life

Salem Editor — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:46:00 GMT

Town officials in Windham have begun working with surrounding communities and several state departments to clean up the chloride levels in four local watersheds.

Policy, Dinsmore and Beaver brooks, along with a western tributary of Canobie Lake – part of the Policy Brook and Beaver Brook watersheds within the Interstate 93 corridor – have all come under scrutiny by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services after a yearlong study found significant water- quality violations.

Now officials at DES are asking local and state authorities to work together as part of a salt-reduction work group to find a solution to the unacceptably high level of chloride in the watersheds. see these readings, and, in order to get a handle on it, we did the year-long monitoring program. Automated samplers were put into the streams and took measures every 15 minutes,” said Eric Williams, watershed assistance section supervisor.

“Almost all of it is due to winter road and parking lot maintenance.”

While there are a few insignificant sources of chloride, like atmospheric deposits, food waste or water softeners, about 50 percent of the salt leaked into the watersheds is attributed to private roads or parking lots and another 30 to 40 percent from public roads. State highways contribute about 15 percent, Williams said.

The acceptable chloride level is 230 milliliters per liter. Over the past year, Policy Brook had chloride levels 25 percent over that limit on average, Williams said.

Though the high levels of chloride do not pose a significant health risk to humans, it does pose a threat to fish and other aquatic organisms.

To meet water quality levels, about 40 percent of the chloride found in the water would need to be removed, but because chloride in the runoff cannot be treated, there is no method of taking the salt out of the system, according to Williams. Reducing the amount of salt used to keep roads and highways clear during winter storms presents the most viable solution over time, he said.

The salt reduction work group – made up of municipal representatives from Windham, Salem, Derry, Londonderry and Chester, as well as the New Hampshire Department of Transportation – was an effort to begin pushing towns toward finding affordable ways to reduce the amount of salt used during the winter months.

“How do we do this thing is as a collaborative effort?” said David Poulson, transfer station manager and one of Windham’s representatives in the work group. “I think its too early to figure out how this is going to unfold. I just know we’re at the point that we’re going to have to implement these changes.”

DES officials are considering implementing total maximum daily limits on the amount of salt each community can use, Poulson said, which means Windham will have to explore new options to keep the roads free of snow, including using brine or sand rather than salt.

“Windham blends chloride and sand, unlike a lot of communities. We do our part to reduce chloride and that’s been our method for a long long time. We’ve tried the best available technologies. Is that enough? No,” Poulson said. “We did things on the sand-salt blends, alternative treatments, and it comes down to dollars and cents. There’s not a perfect solution, but there may be a blending of solutions.”

Poulson is optimistic that collaboration with other communities as well as with the DOT will present viable solution for Windham. In the meantime, the town has purchased two new sanders that allow more control over how much of the sand-salt mixture is dispensed at any given time and according to Highway Agent Jack McCartney, the town has reduced the amount of chloride used on the roads in the vicinity of the affected tributaries.

On average the town uses about 3,500 tons of the salt-sand mixture – one part salt to every three parts sand – over the course of the winter. McCartney said. They have also begun evaluating storms to determine the precise amount of the mixture needed.

While Williams said there does seem to be a “healthy amount of skepticism” towards finding a cost-effective solution to keeping roads clear without using salt on the part of town officials, the offer of potential state grants and the level of regional collaboration have propelled them in the right direction.

“The towns think that they’re currently being fairly careful with their salt, which I think is true. For one thing they’ve got to purchase their salt. It’s the cheapest way of maintaining the road, but its still an expense,” Williams said. “The way that we’re approaching it is that this is going to be a long term program to try and achieve these reductions. If we see sign reductions of chloride in water bodies ten years from now I think we’ll be doing a good job.”

Blasting may have caused water woes

Salem Editor — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:47:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

State environmental officials have ordered a company to conduct a site investigation after levels of nitrate exceeding safe drinking water standards were found in several wells near the company’s blasting operation off Ledge Road in Windham.

Meadowcroft Development LLC was ordered by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to have the investigation completed by March 31.

The study, which would be conducted by a qualified expert, is intended to assess the full extent of the groundwater contamination and develop a plan for remedial action. DES has determined that Meadowcroft may be responsible for the contamination. Following complaints by several neighbors, Meadowcroft voluntarily ceased blasting and the town hired StoneHill Environmental Inc., to test wells in the vicinity of its site.

During a Monday, Dec. 10 meeting, hydrogeologist Tim Stone told selectmen that some of the samples taken by his company revealed nitrate levels higher than the acceptable standard of 10 milligrams per liter: 130 on the blasting site, 62 in its supply well, 60 at a nearby business, and samples at four houses on Haverhill Road (Route 111) that ranged from 17 to 58.

Meadowcroft has been ordered by DES to provide bottled water to the affected property owners.

About 25 residents attended the meeting, many of them wearing orange stickers that read: “Support a Safe Windham.”

“We are here to try to work through a solution that is best for you and your greater community,” Selectmen Chairman Alan Carpenter told them.

Several residents previously complained that the blasting, which began last year, has shaken their houses, and has caused water to smell bad and be discolored.

Meetinghouse Road resident Joanne Vignos said that for 14 years there was no discoloration in her water. Six weeks after the blasting began, she said, her water drastically went bad and iron levels “went through the roof.”

DES has recently sampled 20 wells and the results will be included in the investigation.

High levels of arsenic have also been found in some area wells.

Brandon Kernen, a DES hydrologist, said blasting won’t be allowed to continue at the Meadowcroft site until the investigation determines what caused the contamination, there are remedies in place to fix it and it’s determined how to prevent the situation from happening again.

Dave Gordon, a DES health risk assessor, said nitrate can affect the ability of the body to carry oxygen. Those who are most susceptible are pregnant women, infants and people who suffer digestive disorders.

Meadowcroft plans to build a business park at the blasting site.

Rich Wissell, who soon turns 65 and lives on Haverhill Road, said he planned to retire next year and sell his property.

“How in the hell am I going to sell my home when you can’t drink the water?” he asked selectmen.

Wissell said another resident with bad water is a “prisoner” in his own home – trapped because he can’t sell his property.

Windham News : Environment

Too much road salt in Windham hurting aquatic life

Blasting may have caused water woes