Salt is Not Good for Plants or Water

Salt is not good for plants or water. The Yellow Fish Road Award at this year’s Calgary Youth Science Fair went to two young girls, Karah Petersen (left) and Kaitlyn Choy (right) from Hawkwood School, in Calgary, Alberta.

A variety of de-icing products are available on the market, many of which are salt-based. Often these products end up on lawns and/or wash down the storm drain system eventually entering rivers.

The objective of Karah and Kaitlin’s project was to determine which de-icer had the least effect on grass growth to help better understand the impacts of de-icers on the environment. They compared three different de-icing products and looked at their ability to melt ice, their effect on seed germination, and their effect on grass growth. The three treatments were compared to a control (tap water).

Their experiments found that there wasn’t a single de-icer that was effective at melting ice while having no effect on plant growth.

• The Safe-T-Salt (made of rock salt (NaCl), this is the cheapest and most commonly used product) and Scott’s ezmelt (made of NaCl and CaCl2 and claiming to melt ice 33% faster than rock salt and is easier on lawns and plants) both of these products melted ice and slowed grass growth but stopped germination. • The Alaskan Pet-Friendly (made of the mineral Natrolite and urea and claiming to be salt-free and safe for pets) allowed some germination but killed growing grass and was not effective at melting ice.

In conclusion, Karah and Kaitlin’s experiment suggests that all of the de-icing products that they tested have an impact on either the germination and/or the growth of plants. An alternative to de-icing products with less environmental impact is using mechanical means: clearing snow as it falls on your sidewalk or driveway and the removing ice as it forms. This may be the first rule of action in protecting plants in our yard and the water in our rivers.