Street Salting Practices
Greetings! Now that we have had our first snowfall, we are getting some questions about salting of side streets. We know that salt is effective in many situations but is not necessarily the best solution for our environment. Over the last several years, our DPW crew has worked with area public works groups to devise strategies to maintain our roadways during and following winter weather events that are environmentally friendly. This includes but is not limited to the use of brining systems, using sand and considering how plowing occurs as alternatives to heavy salting. To help us understand why changes are needed, the following information is being shared from Wisconsin Salt Wise. Once salt is in the environment it does not go away. It ends up in our lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands, putting aquatic life at risk and endangering our freshwater resources. For reference, it only takes 1 teaspoon of salt to pollute 5 gallons of water to a level that is toxic to freshwater ecosystems. Our local waterways, groundwater and soil have been absorbing salt spread in the city for decades. Salt is hard on infrastructure because it alters the composition of soil, slows plant growth and weakens the concrete, brick and stone that make up our homes, garages, bridges, and roads. That means that in addition to environmental concerns, there is a significant economic impact to over salting. In a harsh winter, the City of Waupun can spend more than $200,000 on snow and ice removal. That does not account for costs to repair roads and equipment maintenance/replacement due to the effects of salt on our built environment. It also does not include costs associated with remediation requirements being imposed by WI-DNR to address runoff problems associated with surface applications in our community, which total millions of dollars. In all cases, solutions to treat/address these problems are costly to install and even more expensive to operate, meaning that preventing salt from entering our environment is the most cost-effective solution. So, the approach to treating winter weather cleanup has shifted from a reactive process to a more proactive process to minimize the impact on our environment. I hope this provides some frame of reference as to why the changes are occurring. If you do have concerns on specific roadways, I would ask that you please contact City Hall to report those concerns. If we work together we will achieve great results for our community.
Tax bills continue to arrive in the mail. Please feel free to take advantage of one of our contactless payment options, including paying online, paying by mail, or paying via the drop box available at City Hall’s main entrance off Forest Street. City facilities are open for in-person payments from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday, with the exception of holiday closures, which include December 23, 24, and 31, 2021 as well as on January 3, 2022. Please note that City Hall is not open for in-person payments on New Year’s Eve. For your convenience, the drop box is always available and your payment will be processed on December 31, 2021 if placed in the drop box by 11:59 p.m. that day. If you have an escrow check and a refund is due, a check will be mailed.
Around town, a special thank you goes out to My Property Shoppe for their sponsorship and event planning for last week’s holiday parade and the holiday light contest now in process. I hope you take time to enjoy all that Waupun has to offer this holiday season!
