#73 Snow, Salt, and Streams
The area’s first significant snowfall brings needed moisture and the use of salt to keep our roads clear. But the accumulation of sodium chloride as runoff from roads and other impervious surfaces degrades habitat in streams and along roadways.
This show originally aired on January 17, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.
As I emerged earlier this morning to put the trash and recycling on the street, the robins roosting in bushes along side the house erupted in a worried flush. They were late to emerge, having slept in, still awaiting the trigger of daylight that was coming reluctantly on this gray and cold morning heavy with the moisture and a prediction snowfall. At the street, the road was a blotchy white where Public Works trucks had made their first pass spreading salt in anticipation of the accumulation.
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