Councillor King’s motion on the City’s salting practices

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At the February 18, 2025 meeting of City Council’s Environment and Climate Change Committee (agenda here), Councillor Rawlson King presented a remarkably comprehensive Inquiry to staff about the City’s salt management practices. Owing to its comprehensiveness, staff asked that the motion be brought back to the committee at its next meeting, on March 18 (agenda here), as a motion. In the process, the motion was slimmed considerably. Please read the motion below.

For our discussion of this motion, see here.

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WHEREAS road salt is widely used on roads, sidewalks, and multi-use paths in Ottawa to improve winter safety;

WHEREAS excessive road salt use has been linked to environmental damage, including contamination of local waterways, groundwater, and soil, as well as negative impacts on infrastructure and ecosystems;

WHEREAS organizations such as the Ottawa Riverkeeper and Ecology Ottawa have raised concerns regarding high chloride levels in Ottawa’s water systems and the long-term environmental consequences of road salt runoff;

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa is committed to environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and the protection of local ecosystems;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT City staff be directed to conduct a focused review of Ottawa’s road salt use, with a specific emphasis on its environmental impact, particularly its effects on local waterways; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT staff report back on the following:

1. The measures taken by the City’s Public Works department to ensure salt application aligns with environmental and climate change considerations while maintaining public safety;
2. Any assessments conducted on the environmental impact of current salt use levels and the mitigation strategies in place;
3. The methods used to monitor the impact of road salt on Ottawa’s waterways, including rivers, lakes, and groundwater;
4. The steps taken to mitigate salt runoff into waterways and whether the City filters salt-infused snow at municipal snow dumps to minimize environmental contamination;
5. The feasibility of incorporating road salt management into the Ottawa River Action Plan, given the documented concerns regarding chloride contamination in waterways;
6. That the City’s Salt Management Plan be made available online for public access and transparency.