road salt

Barring a late season snowstorm, Michigan expects to use 175,000 tons less salt than usual. That saves money and cuts down on salt pollution.

Salting roads becomes less effective when temperatures drop below 15 degrees.

Rivers and lakes are becoming saltier while law and practice limit effective responses.

Your car's undercarriage isn’t the only place road salt accumulates each winter. University of Wisconsin researchers are seeing more and more salt in the Great Lakes — so much that the lakes' ecosystems are starting to change.

Decades of experiments with other options, from beet- and corn-based deicers to sand and chemical mixes, have yet to yield an alternative that's anywhere as effective and affordable.

A pilot project using a saline solution instead of rock salt last year showed good results. It'll be tested on three stretches of state highways this winter.

Salt-speckled sidewalks, driveways and highways are synonymous with winter in the Great Lakes region. But while road salt is highly effective at deicing…