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Is road salt a threat to Lake Simcoe?

December 20, 2025

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By Angie Sullivan

Icy, wintry days came early to Georgina, and with them came the plows and road salt. De-icing roads is a vital component of keeping our roads safe, and our Town plow operators are unsung heroes.

However, a report published this November by the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition (RLSC) warns that road salt is becoming a serious threat to Lake Simcoe. After being applied to the roads, it enters the lake as runoff when the ice and snow melts.

“What we’re trying to do in the report is to take a very fair, frank view at what the challenges are, what has been working, and what hasn’t been working,” said Jonathan Scott, executive director of RLSC.

Numbers from the report say that chloride from road salt has risen in Lake Simcoe from approximately 40 mg/L in 2010 to 61 mg/L in 2024. High levels of chloride can be very damaging for aquatic life.

“The health and wellbeing of the lake is intrinsically linked to the economic success of the region,” Scott said. “Lake Simcoe is central to the economic drivers of the region, agriculture, tourism, fishing, both in the summer and winter.”

Town of Georgina Director of Operations Michael Vos said the municipality has been actively reducing salt use for several years while maintaining winter road safety.

“The Town’s salt usage varies season to season, based upon the winter severity, duration, temperature and precipitation types. The five year average is around 2,600 tons per season,” Vos said. He also noted that switching all routes to sand would not reduce the amount of salt entering the watershed. “Sand has to be applied four times as often and still needs salt mixed in, so the total salt use can actually increase,” he said.

The Town of Georgina is already using a substitute for road salt called Thawrox, which is a pre-treated salt that melts at a lower temperature and therefore less can be used.

Vos said, “Other alternatives include liquids, other salt treatments, and organic solutions (ie. beet juice) are even more cost-prohibitive and are more limited in their application restrictions (ie. Humidity, road temperature, timing before or after snowfall).”

The Town of Georgina also have liability issues to deal with as do private contractors.

“Contractors are stuck in a cycle,” said Claire Malcolmson, past executive director of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, during her delegation to Council on April 2. “They fear lawsuits from slip-and-fall accidents, so they apply more salt than necessary. It’s a legal problem creating an environmental disaster.”

In a letter to Premier Doug Ford on April 7, 2024 Georgina Ward 3 Coun. Dave Neeson, urged the Province to improve contractor guidelines and move ahead with limited liability reforms. The goal is to help private contractors, who apply far more salt collectively than municipalities, reduce over-salting without risking litigation.

Georgina residents can also do their part in helping keep salt from Lake Simcoe. Shovel driveways and sidewalks first before applying salt. Use less if possible, or switch to more eco-friendly alternatives like sand.