Salt (sodium chloride) has been widely used as a deicing agent on highways and urban streets for over half a century. During the 1980’s, the public in Saskatchewan raised some questions about the impacts of salt use on the environment adjacent to highways. In order to position the Department of Highways and Transportation to answer these questions in the future, a joint research study was initiated with the Faculty of Environmental Systems Engineering, University of Regina, on the impact of deicing salt on a newly built section of Saskatchewan highway. A detailed soil and ground water sampling plan was implemented and the background salinity data was recorded by sampling at each preselected site in the fall 1992 before the newly constructed highway section opened. The amount of deicing salt applied annually has been monitored since the highway section was constructed. Soil and water samples have been taken from the pre-selected sites on an ongoing basis. A total of ten vadose sampling sites, fourteen surface water sampling sites, and three ground water monitoring wells have been sampled in the study area. The first stage study started immediately after the background sampling and lasted until the end of 1997. The second stage commenced in the fall of 2000 and was completed in 2005. A third program has just started. Thousands of samples have been tested for contaminant concentrations including sodium, chloride and other salinity contributing ions. Saturation percent, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), sodium adsorption ration (SAR) and pH were determined as well. A database has been developed for the storage, management, and analysis of the sample results. This paper describes the research project, the test results, the database capabilities, the accomplishments to date and the future plans for the site.
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