For Immediate Release: 30 January 2018
SUDBURY – The Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance (GSWA) is hosting a Panel Discussion on Road Salt on 5 February 2018, 7:00 pm, at the Vale Living with Lakes Center, 935 Ramsey Lake Road. The public is invited to this open forum to learn more about the growing problem of road salt entering into our freshwater lakes, rivers and aquifers.
Increasing sodium and chloride levels from road salt is a cause for concern, especially in water bodies that are sources of our drinking water.
Scientists and municipalities across North America are struggling to find solutions to the problem of chloride and sodium used to de-ice paved surfaces. There are few mitigation methods, and currently there is no practical way to remove salt from our drinking water, or the environment.
How do we balance the need to protect our water bodies with the need to keep roadways and parking lots safe? The discussion will focus on how to answer this question, especially with regard to Ramsey Lake, a main source of drinking water for over 50,000 Sudbury residents. Its sodium levels are approaching three times the level at which the Medical Officer of Health must be notified, beginning a process designed to alert patients on sodium-restricted diets. Additionally, the lake’s chloride levels are rapidly approaching a level that can harm aquatic life.
The GSWA will host a panel of knowledgeable individuals from the science community to discuss the road salt issue. Panel Members are Dr. John Gunn, Canada Research Chair, Stressed Aquatic Systems; Director, Vale Living with Lakes Centre; and Dr. Charles Ramcharan, Associate Professor School of the Environment, Laurentian University.
“Invitations have also been extended to representatives from the City of Greater Sudbury, the Sudbury and District Health Unit, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and Conservation Sudbury”, said Richard Denton, Chair of the GSWA.
PARKING at Vale Living with Lakes Centre is limited. Additional parking has been arranged across Ramsey Lake Rd in Lot 15. Access via South Bay Road. Gates open from 6 – 8 p.m.
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The GSWA is a a not-for-profit volunteer organization of 17 lake, creek and river stewardship groups, working to protect, promote and advocate for sustainable improvements in water quality and healthy watersheds.
For more information contact:
Richard Denton,
Chair, Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance
Email: rdenton@nosm.ca Tel: (705) 642-5324
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Media:
The Sudbury Star, 3 February 2018 – Is there too much salt in Sudbury’s drinking water?
