DPW reduces the amount of road grits by adding more salt to its mix
By Teresa Edmond
Staff Writer
Suburban Trends
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

With direction from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the muncipality's Department of Public Works has cleared storm drains and streets to keep the borough's lakes and streams free of road material.

Scott Heck, deputy borough manager, gave an update on the DPW's tasks at the April 2 Borough Council meeting. Because the borough modified its policies this past winter, officials have "already noticed a significant reduction in materials collected this year," Heck said.

One modified policy is switching from using 50 percent grit and 50 percent salt to relying more heavily on salt. Salt cuts down the amount of drain debris because it dissolves when mixed with water, explained Borough Manager/Clerk Kelley Rohde. On the other hand, grit -- a mixture of sand and small stones -- gets washed away by rainwater and into drains, contributing to the waste.

Last year, the borough shelled out around $72,478 to get 1,210 tons of road debris disposed of at a DEP-certified landfill, not including man hours and machine time used to clear the roads and catch basins, Heck said.

"We expect to have a significantly less bill for the deposit of our material this year," he said.

Besides the policy changes the borough undertook, officials also had to take new precautions with storm water thanks to a DEP mandate. The borough had to install metal discs in storm water drains and inspect catch basins every year, in different weather conditions.

The borough had until April 1, 2009 to get the discs installed, and the state hasn't repaid the municipality for the money spent on those discs because the borough like all other municipalities in the state is required to do so, borough officials said.

The discs are part of the 2008 municipal budget since they were installed last year. Rohde said that she did not have the cost for the discs immediately available.

"If the discs disappear, we'd put money in this year's budget to replace them," said Rohde. Besides the metal discs, the borough is also required to replace existing grates with bicycle-safe grates whenever officials pave or improve roads. These grates are designed to prevent bicycle wheels from getting caught in them.

Back catch basins have plates put on them to minimize hole sizes, diminishing the chances of balls or sticks getting trapped in them. However, these types of catch basins risk getting clogged after significant rainfall. Heck said that although the DPW would do its best to unclog these drains after considerable rainfall, he's asking "everyone" to help keep these drains clear.

The DPW will also initiate road repairs, which include patching up potholes on main and secondary roads.

"I ask everyone to be paitent (about the road repairs), but we'll take care of that in a timely manner," Heck said.

Resident Earl Axelrod of Valley Road, who was at the April 2 meeting, said that he couldn't comment on the other streets in the borough, but "where (he) lives the roads have been as they have always been."

"I see no particular differences but we don't have storm drains" on Valley Road, he noted.

Is salt overuse in bad taste:
Even though using more salt for the roads reduces the municipality's burden of cleaning out catch basins, the decision might have serious ramifications if it gets into water supplies, according to one local environmentalist.

Robin O'Hearn, executive director of Skylands CLEAN, was not present at the April 2 meeting when Heck delivered his report. However, she has wondered whether there are DEP policies controlling stepped up salt usage.

"The use of more salt this year is especially troubling in light of the discovery that we're finding more salt in the public wells, which is probably attirbutable to that increase in road salt," she said.

O'Hearn said she understands why the borough wants to avoid using grit due to its inevitable end in storm drains, which would cost money to clean out. However, she thinks grit is a better alternative than salt because too much salt in water supplies would affect people with health problems.

"People with health issues ssuch as high blood pressure are negatively impacted when there is more sodium in drinking water. I would rather them (the borough) using grit, which provides an additional measure of traction too."

Email:  edmond@northjersey.com'

---