Watershed alliance wants Sudbury, Ont., to stop building major roads near watershed

The Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance wants the northern Ontario city to stop building major roads near the city's watershed.

The group says because arterial roads are legislated to be clear of snow between three to eight hours after a snowfall, the city has to use salt to reach that target.

Smaller, less busy roads, though, don't have the same requirements in place, and the city can use sand for traction instead.

"Road salt is becoming an increasingly significant contaminant in our environment and certainly within Sudbury itself, it's an issue with respect to Ramsey Lake which is the drinking water source for I think around 45,000 people," said Richard Witham, past chair of the Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance.

Witham said more sodium in the city's main supply of drinking water can be an issue for people on salt-limited diets, or with health issues like hypertension.

Public Health Sudbury and Districts says the "aesthetic objective" for sodium in drinking water is to have no more than 200 milligrams of salt per litre of water.

Data shared on their website indicates tests near the water treatment plant on David Street, located next to Ramsey Lake, measured 54 milligrams of sodium per litre in 2020.

Witham said making sure any future roads near the watershed are less busy could go a long way to ensure that number doesn't go up to a dangerous level.

"At this point, we're continuing to contaminate the environment and we'll reach a point where in fact it could be a point of no return," he said.

Tony Cecutti, the city of Greater Sudbury's general manager of growth and infrastructure, said concerns about sodium levels in the watershed are valid.

But Cecutti added the city already has measures in place to protect the watershed.

If the city ever planned to expand Paris Street, for examplewhich is a major road not far from Ramsey Lake it would need to conduct an environmental assessment first.

"That environmental assessment would include evaluating the impacts to the environment and doing so in a responsible way," Cecutti said.

Drawbacks to salt alternatives

As for alternatives to salt to get busier arterial roads down to bare asphalt, Cecutti said options are limited.

"I would argue that all of those alternatives have some form of chemical that may be as harmful as salt is to the environment, and in all the cases, they're much more costly to use," he said.

The city has explored using beet juice as an ice melter for city roads, but Cecutti said the drawback is that it attracts animals, which creates a new hazard for drivers.