Several municipalities in eastern Ontario report that they’re having to ration road salt or mix it with sand due to a shortage across the province.
“This is probably one of the worst things that you can have thrown at you, [when] you rely on a product to ensure public safety,” said Yanick Beaudin, public works supervisor for the city of Brockville, Ont.
Brockville is among numerous cities in Ontario facing this shortage, which has resulted from an unusually snowy winter.
This situation has caused municipalities to deplete their salt reserves more quickly than usual. The demand for road salt has been so intense that even the largest salt mine in the province – and in the world – is struggling to keep up.
Compass Minerals, which runs that mine in Goderich, Ont., told CBC via email that there’s a high demand throughout the supply chain due to the weather.
The company mentioned that it’s doing its best to fulfill all current orders while prioritizing shipments for municipal clients.
“There’s been just way too many snow events this year, [and] most municipalities have ran through the majority of their stockpiles,” said Beaudin.
“Usually we rely on them to ship out more to us, but there’s nothing left to ship.”
This file photo from 2015 shows workers at the salt mine in Goderich, Ont. The company that operates the mine, Compass Minerals, says demand for road salt is exceedingly high this winter. (CBC)
Beaudin indicated that Brockville will be combining salt with sand on its roads; while sand can provide traction, it doesn’t melt ice like salt does.
He mentioned he “has no choice but to be confident” that they have enough salt for the remainder of winter.
Lanark County, primarily rural and located west of Ottawa with communities like Carleton Place, Maberly and Perth, is also cutting back on its use of road salt to prevent running low.
The county’s warden, Richard Kidd, stated they’ve already used over 8,000 tonnes of salt this season and only have 500 remaining in storage.
Similar to Brockville’s approach, Kidd explained that they plan to mix salt with sand for what’s left of winter – although they’ll revert back solely to salt if an ice storm hits.
“By mixing it with the sand, we’re still meeting all provincial standards,” Kidd said.
“It’s just not going to be a bare road. It’s probably going to be a little bit more slushy, but it’ll make our about 500 tonnes go a lot farther.”
A 2018 file photo of Richard Kidd. He says Lanark County has already used 8,000 tonnes of salt this winter. (Matthew Kupfer/CBC)
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