Road Salts in the DC Region: A Discussion of Emerging Impacts and Best Practices

Road salts have been increasingly used since the 1940s, for the primary purpose of keeping us on the road and preventing accidents and falls. However, it’s also known that road salts are negatively affecting ecosystems and critical infrastructure. Communities are beginning to implement improved practices that reduce the amount of salt used while maintaining the public safety benefits. This event will highlight scientific perspectives on the impacts of road salts, and emerging best management practices and strategies that could affect the way road salts or alternative materials are applied in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Region.

 

Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 5:30 - 7:45 pm
5:30 pm - Light Refreshments
6:15 pm - Presentations and Discussion
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 777 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC
Training Center, 1^st Floor

 

Speakers

Joel Moore
Towson University
Joel Moore is an Associate Professor of Geosciences at Towson University. He received his Ph.D. in Geosciences from Penn State University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University where he studied soil development and stream chemistry. Since starting at Towson in 2011, a major focus for his research lab has been urban geochemistry, including the impacts of road salt on stream and groundwater chemistry.

Will Isenberg
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Will Isenberg completed his Bachelors in Environmental Studies and Masters in Environmental Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. In his Master’s Thesis Will developed a nutrient mass balance for the tidal freshwater James River in order to evaluate nutrient fluxes and factors affecting retention. Will works at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. He currently serves as the point of contact for the development of the Accotink Creek Sediment and Chloride TMDLs. Will has contributed to Salt Management Strategy development in an effort to provide reasonable assurance of implementation for chloride TMDLs, and to provide a strategy for reducing chloride loads in the Accotink Creek watershed and the Northern Virginia region in general.