Page 3 - ALA Fall 2017 Newsletter

The Cascade Lakes, Mirror Lake and efficient with its application is a first
Road salt leaching Lake Colby are some of the saltiest in step and can also save taxpayer
into groundwater the Adirondacks, with chloride dollars. The cost of bare roads in an
Adirondack winter is the salinization
concentrations up to 250-times higher
than lakes not impacted by road salt. of our local waterbodies. If we all
Road salt is beginning to be AWI and the Ausable River Association agree to slow down and drive safely,
recognized as the acid rain of our have both documented elevated we could go a long way towards
time. An old threat to our Adirondack chloride concentrations in Adirondack reducing the amount of salt used.
lakes and streams that has been streams during the summer and fall, ~By Brendan Wiltse, ALA Director,
lingering in the background is now when they are primarily fed by Region B
rising to the top of the list of issues groundwater, suggesting we’ve
affecting our waters. Research by the contaminated this important
Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) resource. AWI is also engaged in a
documented that 6.5 million tons of well water study related to chloride
road salt have been applied in the leaching into groundwater.
Adirondack Park since 1980. All this
salt is entering our streams and lakes, The solution to the road salt problem
as well as leaching into our ground water. isn’t straightforward. Being more

Guidelines for Point minimize the impacts on the owner.
Source Pollution We are looking into current regulatory

requirements and availability of funds
The ALA is in the process of to assist individual landowners in
developing general guidelines for correcting and/or replacing the facility.
identifying and managing point source Initially, the approach will be to
pollution. These guidelines will be identify the existence of a problem by
made available to our members for using various water quality analyses,
use in their specific jurisdictions. The followed by determination that the
primary focuse will be related to source of bacterial contamination is
failing septic tanks. human related.

Because of the significant sensitivity The primary focus is to
of the issue, we want to work with identify failing septic
regulators and municipalities in
developing these guidelines to tanks
minimize the impact on individual
landowners. This is an issue which will As soon as a Draft process has been
require careful analysis and an developed, it will be reviewed by
understanding of what is involved board members and regional experts
once a source is identified. to ensure it is consistent and
appropriate. Stay tuned for more
Canadian shore of Lake Champlain Because individual septic sources will information on this topic.
turns green due to pollution and algae be identified, it will be essential to ~By Frank Pine, ALA Director, Region D

ALA Newsletter Fall 2017 3