Our St. Clair River watershed is made up of unique water resources, like over a thousand miles of streams and creeks, fourteen Great Lakes beaches and North America’s largest freshwater delta. Threats to our watershed, like runoff, flooding and pollution can lead to advisories for fish and drinking water consumption, closed beaches, and impair our favorite recreational activities. While it may be easy to remember these things when we are paddling in the spring or relaxing on the beach in July, it’s important that we do our part to protect the watershed year-round.
Our first reaction to a blanket of ice and snow may be to remove it as quickly and easily as possible. The products and steps you choose to clear your driveway and sidewalk can either have a positive or negative impact on rivers and streams, creeks and drains as the snow melts. Consider these winter watershed friendly tips:
- Shovel or sweep snow from walkways before applying deicer to cut down on the amount needed to be effective. Let the sun do its work when you can!
- When choosing a deicer, consider sand over salt or other chemical deicers. Sand is a natural material that can be swept up and used throughout the entire season.
- If you prefer chemical deicers or it is the only option for your location, use them sparingly and avoid using them near storm drains and waterways. While CaCl (calcium chloride) works faster than NaCl (rock salt) and requires less to be effective, all products containing chloride have negative impacts on the environment by increasing the salinity of the water. As the snow melts, there is no way to prevent these chemicals from making their way into our storm water and ground water.
- When you remove snow from your sidewalk and driveway, do not pile it into the street or near a stream. Move the snow entirely off the pavement by piling it on vegetated areas which will allow it to percolate into the ground, rather than overwhelm storm drains and lead to spring flooding.
- As the snow begins to melt, clean the storm drains near your house. Remove litter and any other debris that may have accumulated during the winter. Melting snow is stormwater, too!
If you are like me and enjoy winter recreation, like hiking and skiing, we can still keep watershed projection in mind while outside enjoying nature. Remember, when we play in it today, we drink it tomorrow!
- Keep snowmobiles, four wheelers and other motorized recreational vehicles in good repair to prevent oil and gasoline leaks. Follow noise and speed regulations to respect wildlife.
- If you use frozen waterways for winter recreation, avoid causing erosion by entering and exiting only at designated areas.
- Avoid littering and pick up trash left by others when you can. Melting snow and spring rain will pick up these items, carry them into nearby storm drains.
- Look around for items left after your winter activities. Fishing line, bait buckets, used hand warmers and broken sleds are items often left behind at our parks and waterways.
Many of our winter activities and household chores can add stress to our watersheds but when we each make small changes, we ensure our lake, streams and rivers remain clean and healthy for swimming, drinking and fishing in all seasons.
What is your favorite winter outdoor activity and how does it have the potential to impact our watershed, either in a positive or negative way? Have you thought about how your snow removal habits impact your spring landscaping? What is your favorite snow and ice removal product or technique that is watershed friendly? Let us know in the comments!
Amy lives on the Black River in Port Huron and enjoys watching people recreate on the river in the winter from the warmth of her living room.