32 D2. Contributions in Solid Earth, Hydrogeology, and Environmental Geoscience

Sunday, 30 March 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
170B

THE IMPACT OF DEICING SALT USE ON IMPERVIOUS SURFACES IN CENTRAL OHIO: A REVIEW

Paper number: 32-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 10:15 AM – 10:35 AM

Authors

Abstract

In regions where snow and ice are a significant contribution to winter precipitation, the contribution of chloride from deicing activities can be a major input to natural waters. In the US, increased Cl concentrations, especially in urban and suburban streams, have been well documented in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest states. Chloride increases can have deleterious effects on aquatic ecological health, roadside vegetation well-being, and water quality. In some stream and river locations in these areas, long-term records are lacking, which makes it more difficult to assess changes through time. In this presentation, we review previously published work conducted on streams and rivers in Ohio and previously unpublished data gathered both from our own work and that of others. Many of these latter datasets have temporal gaps making difficult the quantitative determination of temporal trends but provide insight into Cl concentrations of waters that serve as drinking water sources for Columbus. The city of Columbus, with its population of approximately 914,000 residents, is presently the 14th largest city in the US having grown from a population of ~503,000 in 1950. The Scioto River is one of the major rivers in Ohio. The Scioto and a several of its larger tributaries flow through Columbus and its suburbs. We have evaluated the available data from the Scioto and its tributaries, both north and south of Columbus. Different long-term and seasonal patterns in Cl concentrations exist in these locations. With projections for large temporal and spatial growth in both population and infrastructure in the central Scioto River watershed in the next 25 years, our work emphasizes the need for continued monitoring of chloride and other major ions in the river water.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025NE-408432

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