Sudbury advocacy group wants to limit salt used on roads in order to protect the local watershed
Sudbury advocacy group wants to limit salt used on roads in order to protect the local watershed
As winter winds down and the snow melt begins, the Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance is calling on the city to do more to protect our waterways from road salt.
The alliance released a statement indicating its concern that there isn’t enough being done to protect local water systems from exposure.
When road salt migrates after the melt, there is no way from stopping it from entering waterways.
“It’s possible to remove it but is prohibitively expensive – so no one does that and so once it dissolves into the system and you can’t filter it out so the sodium is now increasing in lake Ramsey,” said Richard Witham with the alliance.
In 2006, the city was one of the first in Canada to implement a procedure to reduce the amount of road salt by using sand whenever possible.
“We try to make sure we look at a very focused watershed level to ensure we’re doing the kinds of things to protect and mitigate the effects of urbanization,” said Tony Cecutti, the general manager of Growth and Infrastructure for the City of Greater Sudbury.
Witham said development around Ramsey Lake is of particular concern.
Officials with the water alliance said they want the city to deem the roads as residential, as they would prefer the use of sand over salt.
“We’re aware there is going to be development within the Ramsey lake sub-water shed but if it’s development that’s only using residential roads then in fact they’re not obligated to salt,” said Witham.
“Then they can sand and as a result we’re not adding to the problem.”
Cecutti told CTV News the city shares the same concerns for the watershed around Ramsey Lake and continue to plan any future developments accordingly.
“Certainty the Ramsey Lake watershed is one where we are anticipating for the most part residential development, so I would say for the most part we will be adhering to that aspirational goal,” said Cecutti.
Even with the upcoming arrival of spring, there is still snow in the forecast – which means the local ecosystems will still have likely weeks of road salt exposure.
With the latest hike bringing Canada's key interest rates to levels not seen since 2001, one mortgage broker is warning that it may be 'the last straw' for some homeowners with variable mortgages.
It's been a busy, tumultuous few days for Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex as he took his place on the witness stand in his trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers. Here are royal commentator Afua Hagan's top takeaways from his two-day grilling.
Poor air quality is forecast to persist into the weekend across parts of Ontario, as plumes of wildfire smoke blanket the province and prompt school boards to limit outdoor activities.
The Bank of Canada's latest decision to raise its key interest rate comes at a time when many are struggling to afford their homes. CTVNews.ca wants to hear from people in Canada who are going to great lengths to find affordable housing.
One of the architects of the law that governs Canada's prison system says it's understandable people want revenge on killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo, but that's not what the prison system is designed for.
With social media ever-present in modern life, figuring out when and how to introduce it to children is something every parent will have to deal with eventually. CTV's Your Morning spoke to a child-life specialist about how parents can have that conversation and be positive role models too.
Multiple municipalities across Simcoe County are under fire bans amid tinder-dry conditions igniting concerns about the potential dangers of out-of-control fires.
The air quality in Toronto has become so polluted due to forest fires in Quebec and Ontario that strenuous outdoor activities could leave you coughing and with an itchy throat.
A regulatory body has revoked the licence of a Mississauga homebuilder after it says that the company demanded that a buyer pay an additional $518,000 for a property that they already had a contract to purchase.
High levels of air pollution have developed in Waterloo region and Wellington County as smoke plumes from wildfires burning in Quebec and northeastern Ontario continue to blow into the region, Environment Canada says.
A lifejacket and a swift response by the community are credited with saving the life of a swimmer who had drifted from shore near Grand Bend last weekend.
Smoke from wildfires in Quebec and Northern Ontario is finding its way into the region. While the London, Ont. area has escaped the extreme haze seen over parts of Eastern Ontario, a special air quality advisory is in effect — anyone looking up Tuesday evening could see why.
Construction has started on Dundas Street between Quebec and Egerton streets. The work is for the East London Link and is expected to take about two months to complete.
Windsor police are looking for witnesses to a serious collision involving a pedestrian Tuesday afternoon that sent a 62-year-old man to hospital with life-threatening conditions.
Further evacuations are necessary in Abitibi and Nord-du-Québec due to forest fires. Although the situation has improved on the North Shore due to rain, no precipitation is expected further west until Monday.
In an interview on CJAD 800 Radio, Quebec Conservative Party leader Eric Duhaime said the new measures in place related to Quebec's ammendments to the French Language Charter have made Quebec a 'laughingstock' and that phone and website messages are 'offensive.'
On Wednesday, the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) filed a writ of intervention with the housing tribunal (TAL) to plead in favour of two tenants opposing the clause in their lease prohibiting them from owning animals in their dwelling.
The chief of the Shelburne Volunteer Fire Department says the blaze near Barrington Lake, which is now classified as “held,” is unlike anything he’s ever seen.
Halifax media outlets were given a tour of the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the Tantallon wildfire Tuesday afternoon and saw firsthand the damage and destruction left behind.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
A reward of $100,000 is up for grabs as police in Metro Vancouver renew calls for help finding 36-year-old Cody Timothy Casey—a man wanted Canada-wide for a total of 17 drugs and firearms offences.
The pounding sounds of running on hardwood, the smash of the ball hitting the boards and the cheer of the crowd—it’s officially lacrosse season at Queens Park Arena in New Westminster.
