Water Sector News
A snapshot of clean water stories from publications around the country, updated daily!
Salt in water sources becoming worrisome in D.C. region, experts warn
The Washington region is growing — a metropolis of nearly 6 million people where area officials are pressing to build another 320,000 homes by the end of this decade.
And with that growth comes an increasing, largely unregulated problem: Salt. Lots of it.
Paved streets, sidewalks and parking lots need de-icing in winter, with the sodium chloride in road salt running off intostreams. Washing machines drain sodium-containingdetergents and industrial firms discharge sodium-laden water into wastewater systems, which already treat the human waste of a society addicted to salty foods and drinks.
All these sources contribute to what environmental scientists refer to as a “freshwater salinization syndrome” that isdamaging local waterways, harming wildlife and affecting the quality of drinking water throughout the United States — posing risks to people who aresensitive to the two elements in salt: sodium and chloride.