Simple Model of Changes in Stream Chloride Levels Attributable to Road Salt Applications
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 1
Abstract
Increasing stream chloride ( ) concentrations have been observed over the last several decades in regions that receive regular road salt. In many cases, these increases occur even when road salt application has remained nearly constant, indicating the presence of multiyear attenuation within watersheds. This paper presents a simple mixing model to interpret the relationship between inputs and in stream discharge. The model was applied to data collected between 1972 and 2003 from Fall Creek in central New York, and the results indicate that stream salt concentrations may continue to increase for several decades. The estimated average residence time of road salt in the watershed was approximately 50 years, although the uncertainty in road salt application history suggests residence times of 40–70 years are reasonable. Hydrologists may be able interpret historical road salt applications and stream salt responses as essentially a regional tracer experiment to gain insights into macroscale watershed characteristics that could dominate average water residence time.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the associate editor and two peer-reviewers who made valuable suggestions to improve this manuscript. Also, we thank Brian Rahm from the New York State Water Resources Institute for his help in clarifying the gas well issues and pointing us to data sources.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 1 • January 2012
Pages: 112 - 118
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 14, 2010
Accepted: Jul 1, 2011
Published online: Jul 21, 2011
Published in print: Jan 1, 2012
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