-Dates indicate when reports were submitted to Geological Society of America, Northeastern Section annual meetings
This study, conducted in a glacial-drift aquifer in Kalamazoo and Portage, Michigan came up with some interesting results. Data was obtained from apprroximately 130 municipal wells in 30 well fields. The main purpose was to determine the distribution of chemical constituents and chemical evolution of the water.
Elevated concentrations of sodium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity were found in the well fields. The high sodium and chlorine concentrations in the Kalamazoo Valley were due to the heavy road salt applications in the downtown area of Kalamazoo. Several explanations were given for the increased magnesium and calcium concentrations. Possibilities include: natural increases due to chemical evolution along glacial-drift flow paths, ion exchange for sodium in road salt, and localized carbonate mineral dissolution caused by the increased ionic strength of high sodium and chloride levels. Therefore, sodium and chlorine may be more destuctive than predicted.
Surface water as well as ground water samples were taken for major and minor elements in the Cuyahoga River Basin. Ground water was obtained from wells in glacial drift, whereas surface samples came from the Cuyahoga River channel.
Below the Akron Pollution Control Facility (APCF), alkali chlorides became distinctly dominant. The molar ratio of Na to Cl increases from 0.7 above the APCF to 0.9 below the facility. This suggests that runoff from road salt in the Akron municipal area is the major contributing factor of contamination in the river.
For the ground water, the (Ca + Mg)/Na molar ratio consistently decreases down-flow. Data suggests cation exchange controls the ground water chemistry.
Seventy wells and twenty-two stream sites were sampled in the Rochester, NY suburb of Penfield to find out the extent of road salt's impact. The first testing was performed for a 60 week period in 1974-75. Water quality degradation was found to be due to the urbanization near watersheds as well adjacentcy of wells to roads. Rural parts had little impact.
Then, in 1975, the town cut its salt use almost in half. Since then, low levels were kept. The sites were again tested in 1986-1987 in the same previous fashion. The results showed a tremendous improvement in the ground water quality (as measured by chloride concentration) in urban parts of town. Surface water also improved, but to a lesser extent. However, in rural parts of the town which had been developed since 1974, ground water quality deteriorated.