Road salt is polluting water supply towns

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Piles of road salt used to melt ice on streets and sidewalks are polluting the drinking water in several Ohio communities, environmental regulators said.

The state Environmental Protection Agency found that rainwater runoff from salt piles has been tainting several public and private wells in Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

The drinking water in the western Ohio village of Camden was so salty that the residents abandoned its wells.

The village, located in Preble County, started pumping water from a temporary well last month after two salt piles at a nearby business had fouled three wells. The EPA has ordered Camden to get its water from the Southwest Regional Water District.

Camden officials did not return calls for comment, but Preble County health commissioner Melissa Williams talked about the effects of the stockpiled salt.

“After you get to a certain level, you can certainly tell there is a change in the taste,” Williams told The Dispatch. “It will corrode your plumbing fixtures, also.”

There are no legal limits on how much salt can be in drinking water aside from a federal guideline meant to safeguard taste. There aren’t rules to govern how road salt is stored, either.

“The (Ohio EPA) director has broad authority to protect health and welfare,” said Mike Baker, the agency’s drinking-water and groundwater chief. “If you can’t drink the water due to taste, it’s a real concern.”

State environmental officials also are looking into water pollution problems caused by salt piles.

near Springfield, Athens, Chardon and Vandalia, The Dispatch reported.

A spokesman for industry-supported Salt Institute in Alexandria, Va., said regional piles are used to eliminate supply shortages during snowy winters.

“That way, there wouldn’t be a panic to buy the stuff and no one is gouging you,” said the spokesman, Morton Satin.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com