Hi Dennis, There will be a Lincoln Squirrel article appearing on the website late tomorrow that will answer at least some of your questions.
Alice Waugh Editor, The Lincoln Squirrel and The Lincoln Chipmunk [email protected] 617-710-5542 (mobile) Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 16, 2022, at 3:03 PM, Dennis Liu <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Curious, so a few more questions. Perhaps the Conservation Commission has > already studied this, given Joan’s point? Would appreciate any answers/data. > > What’s the acceptable level of sodium in drinking water? > Do we have data on the level of sodium in Lincoln public drinking water? > Do we have data on the level of sodium in private wells in Lincoln? > Do we have data on how sodium levels in Lincoln are being affected by road > salt, rather than any natural fluctuations in sodium levels? > Does this data cover salting from Route 2 (is that done by state DPW), versus > residential roads? Studies show that most of the salting is from highway use. > If so, do we then have any studies that show it’s road salt from being spread > on roads, rather than leaking from storage – which is the leading cause of > salt entering water supplies? > If we don’t have this data, then on what basis should we have concern about > this issue affecting drinking water in Lincoln? > > I would also ask the same questions – replacing impact on human drinking > water with questions on data showing adverse impacts on wildlife. > > This is a somewhat dated but completely on-topic report: > https://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr235/099-112.pdf > > Perhaps it’d be helpful to all of us and the Town to get some answers on this > before calling up and lobbying the DPW? > > Thanks, > > --Dennis > > From: Joan Kimball <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2022 2:39 PM > To: Dennis Liu <[email protected]> > Cc: LincolnTalk.org <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] Too much - or too little - salt on the road > > When I was on the Conservation Commission we were concerned about salt > because of health of the wetlands and protecting our drinking water supply, > all of which is contained and originates in Lincoln. > > Joan > > > On Sun, Jan 16, 2022, 2:34 PM Dennis Liu <[email protected]> wrote: > Since this seems to be a growing conversation, a couple of points as food for > thought. > > As with everything else involving politics and public works, we have to ask > ourselves when considering taking action – “what are the TRADEOFFS for taking > a proposed action?” Or “Every benefit has a cost; what is it in this case?” > > It’s not only the impact on the town budget (for the salt, and for the DPW > crew’s time). It’s also about SAFETY. > > What’s the cost of avoiding an accident? Every year, 1,300 people are killed > and 116,800 people are injured due to vehicle accidents on snow, slushy or > icy pavement. What’s the cost of a life lost, or injury suffered? > > What about the cost of damaging or destroying a vehicle – and whatever the > vehicle hits? Pedestrians struck in crosswalks or on sidewalks? Damaged > telephone poles, buildings, signs, parked cars? > > And let’s not forget the massive associated costs – lawsuits. Why do > businesses seemingly always “oversalt” their parking lots, roads and paths? > Because it’s a really, really common and easy-to-win lawsuit. The cost of > putting down ice melt is a tiny, tiny cost of paying for a lawsuit, even with > insurance. Indeed, some insurance policies require plowing and salting. > > So, from the Town’s perspective – the “cost” for salting the roads is a > combination of the actual expense for the salt, the cost for DPW time (and > amortized expense of running salters), and, arguably, the externality cost of > having some degree of “excess” salt entering into water. The “benefit” of > salting, even salting to “excess”, is the avoidance of lawsuits, and avoiding > more accidents, causing harm to life, limb and property. > > Avoiding excessive salting is a good thing! But if the Town is unable to lay > down some perceived “perfect” quantity of salt, given the constantly changing > weather conditions, surely it’d be better to oversalt by some degree, given > the inherent risks? > > I urge everyone concerned about this issue to study NOT ONLY the impact of > road salt on water and wildlife, but also take into account the impact of a > life lost – perhaps a friend or loved one – as well as the economic impact > from these accidents. > > HTH, > > --Dennis > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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