Hold the salt: Experts concerned about runoff into Lake Ontario after storm

As residents and commuters recover from Wednesday'streacherous freezing rain,they're seeing a familiar sight on Toronto's roads and sidewalks.

Salt. Lots of it. Maybe even too much of it in some places.

Sure, it helps both drivers and pedestrians keep from slipping and sliding on slick surfaces.

But AnthonyMerante, a fresh water conservation specialist for World Wildlife Fund Canada, says excess amounts of salt arehaving a negative impact on local wildlife.

He says as the snow melts and turns to run-off water, thousands of tons ofsaltgo with it, draining into the sewers, streams, and, eventually, Lake Ontario.

"It will start affecting fish, turtles, frogs, and then upper levels of the food chains," Merantesaid.

He said the solutionis simple: use less salt.

Studies show just using a small salt shaker would be enough to melt ice on a sidewalk slab, he added.

Meanwhile, homeowners and contractors in Ontario are struggling to find road saltthe result of what many are calling an unprecedentedprovince-wide shortage.

Between10,000 and 12,000 tons of salt per storm

So how much is too much?

Mark Mills, the superintendent of road operations, saysthe city uses between 10,000 and 12,000 tons of salt to fightstorms similar to the one that hit Toronto Wednesday he saysthat'stypically the amount usedwhen all 200 salt trucks are sent out.

"What wehave to keep in mind is we will always erron the side of public safety," Mills told CBC Toronto on Wednesday.

To avoid overkill, he sayseach truckhas an electronic control for spreading the salt, which caps at100kg per lane kilometre.

He sayspedestrians, cyclists, and driversshouldcall 311 if they notice that a lane or sidewalk has been over salted.

"We often will see that there's alittlemore salt than maybe is requiredwe need to know about that," he said.

City, homeowners could be held liable

Mills saysthe city will apply whatever itcanplows or saltuntil the pavement is bare, which is a mandated level of service set by council.

"We don't want to be held in any type ofliability," he said. "We do understand that salt has an adverse affect to the environment, so there is a balance that we constantly have to look at."

But it's not just the city that can beoverzealous with the salt, Mills said.

Property owners sometimes put too much down, as well, After all, they'reexpected to clear off ice and snow from their sidewalk, and can use "whatever materials they see fit" to ensure they aren't vulnerable to any sort of liability if a pedestrian is hurt.

One Toronto woman says she understands why some property ownerswould rather be safe than sorry.

"I think, just out of an abundance of caution, they put out a lot of salt," ElizabethTakasaki said.

Owners can be fined, or even sued, if someone slips and falls on their sidewalk.

'It's overkill'

"Too much, far too much, it's overkill,"said Shawn Draisey, when looking at the salt coating the cement near a King Street streetcar stop.

"There's different ways to do this," he told CBC Toronto Tuesday.

He says the people spreadingsalt on sidewalkseither don't know how to cope with snow and ice, or don't understand the possible negative environmental impact.

"We're in Canada and we've been doing this for a long time," he said.