At the May Evesham Environmental Commission meeting students from Mr. Vic Hunt’s ninth grade Honors Environmental Science class presented their findings from a study that was conducted by the students to determine if road salting was impacting the local freshwater bodies. The group of students collected water samples from local freshwater bodies after every snow or rain fall this past winter. The samples were then brought to class to test with Vernier salinity probes. The main concern about salt intruding into the water was if the level of salt surpassed the normal level of salinity in freshwater and harming the freshwater life forms. The amount of salt in the water was measured in parts per thousand ( ppt); the normal salinity level for freshwater is 0.5 ppt. Data from the study showed that 15 of the 31 total water bodies tested showed averages greater than 0.5 ppts. The students presented the Environmental Commission with possible alternatives to sodium chloride for salting roads.
