The looming specter of winter — and its penchant for dangerous, icy roads — has municipalities countywide preparing an abundant and not-so-secret weapon: salt.

For years, Chautauqua County, like counties across the country, has used rock salt as a way to accelerate the melting process of snow and ice on the roadways — a result of salty water freezing at a lower temperature than regular water.

Unfortunately, the heavy use of sodium chloride has not come without its downside, wreaking havoc not only to vehicles and equipment, but potentially to the environment.

According to William Boria, water resource specialist with the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, the tendency of road salt to infiltrate groundwater, run off to surface water or enter storm drains has impacted chloride levels in local bodies of water, with an increasing — albeit not yet harmful — trend over the past few decades.

“Studies from the 1970s to today have shown an increasing trend in salt concentrations here … but it’s gradually occurring over many years and the levels are still very low,” Boria said. “If the trend continues, then at some point, it will become a bigger issue.”

Chloride levels, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, are typically harmful to freshwater aquatic organisms when exposed to 860 mg/L for an average of one hour, or 230 mg/L for an average of four days.

Humans can only start to detect salt concentrations at about 250 mg/L.

In a study conducted in 2000 by the county’s Department of Planning and Development, chloride levels in Chautauqua Lake were found to be around 10 to 12 mg/L.

A 2015 report by the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program concluded that chloride testing results in Chautauqua Lake were “typical of lakes with moderate impacts from road salt runoff … no biological impacts were measured or reported.”

The Chadakoin River, however, had chloride amounts more than triple that of Chautauqua Lake.

According to a 2002 report distributed by the Chautauqua County Water Quality Task Force, there appeared to be a correlation between the heavy use of salt on Jamestown’s roads and the river’s rising chloride levels.

Specifically, the study compared chloride levels from when the river entered the city (around Holiday Harbor near Celoron) to when it left. It found that chloride levels at the latter site were the highest during the summer time when salt wasn’t being used.

“Salt that was absorbed by the ground (over the winter) seeped into the river over the course of the spring, summer and autumn,” the report read. “This indicated that the ground was heavily laden with salt.”

The study also pointed to an “abnorally high” concentration of salt–up to 80 mg/L–near River Street, where a storm drain flows into the river.

“Water that enters the river through the drain (here) comes from a high gradient portion of the city with such steep streets as Bowen and Winsor,” the report read. “Due to the gradient of the hills, the city salts these street quite heavily. Therefore, when the melting occurs, a great amount of salted water flows down these hills … and flows into one storm drain.”

The report’s conclusion: the city of Jamestown is “affecting the Chadakoin River by using salt as a road de-icing agent.”

More recent studies have yet to be conducted.

“There’s not a lot of (studies) being done locally,” Boria said. “There has been some interest … but it’s pretty difficult to do these kinds of studies because there’s so many variables involved … and the more variables you have, the more costly the research.”

Boria said recommendations such as covering salt piles to prevent runoff or using a salt water mix instead of pure rock salt are being followed by some municipalities, but the concern of rising chloride levels remains.

Mark Schlemmer, senior civil engineer for the city of Jamestown’s Department of Public Works, said the city is already preparing for the winter months, with leaf collection underway and salt barn already packed to its 1,500 ton capacity.

“We use a lot of salt here in Jamestown … around 6,500 tons of salt (per winter) on average,” Schlemmer said.  “During a heavy storm, we could potentially use 400-500 tons of salt.”

While Schlemmer said he hasn’t heard any major issues about water contamination, he has heard about salt’s corrosive impact to vehicles.

“The salt just eats up our salt spreaders … and rapidly causes mechanical breakdowns all the way to structural breakdowns of the equipment,” he said. “We do our best all winter long to try to keep them rinsed off and flushed out … but it’s a constant battle.”

Schlemmer said salt also wreaks havoc on pavement and blacktop surfaces, with just a little salt water falling into a crack causing degradation.

A salt water mix, he said, is in the works and can help reduce the corrosive and potentially hazardous effects of salt.

Most county muncipalities as well as the city of Jamestown acquire their salt from American Rock Salt, the largest operating salt mine in the country at Mount Morris, NY, via a state government bid.

There are five county salt sites, where municipals can restock on salt for the winter. They’re located in Falconer, Sheridan, Sherman, Stockton and Charlotte.