Q & A with: Elizabeth Hiser – Watershed Program Manager at Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District
Written by: Alex Boskovic
Hello pond lovers out there in this wild world! I was fortunate enough to sit down recently with Elizabeth Hiser for a quick Q & A interview to discuss winter stormwater and road salts. Elizabeth has been with Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District since 2014 and is currently the Watershed Program Manager. Prior to Soil & Water, Elizabeth was an Environmental Scientist for a private company for over 11 years. She has also been a volunteer for Cleveland Metroparks and Friends of Euclid Creek for the past decade.
1) We have all lived in NE Ohio long enough to understand the necessity for deicing our roads, but what type of negative environmental impacts can road salt have on our stormwater basins?
As salt levels rise we see plant life struggle. Most plants will have issues growing and reproducing with high salt levels. Increased salt can also increase mobility of metals leading to lower water quality in the basin. Newer water quality basins may settle some of this out, but older flood control basins will pass this pollution on downstream where it can impact our drinking water sources. Salt can affect soil structure allowing soil to erode more easily creating areas that will need stabilization in your basin.
2) What are some alternatives available for deicing that would leave less of an environmental impact on our basins and are any of these alternatives being used here in NE Ohio?
While there are alternatives, none of them come with zero environmental impacts. The best practice with salt is to make sure not to over apply, and to only apply when it will actually work. Apply right before snow falls or right after snow is removed – and never apply when rain is in the forecast. Rock salt does not work below 15 degrees F. Some alternatives that may work in the residential landscape include Sugar Beet Juice, Calcium Magnesium Acetate, or Sand.
3) In your experience, besides road salt, what are some of the other issues you have seen with stormwater basins in the winter months?
One big winter issue with stormwater control measures is improperly plowing snow into practices like bioretention that will be negatively impacted by the compaction that snow can create. With wet basins – safety is a concern. Be sure to have signage for your basin indicating that no skating is allowed. Be sure to check your outlets just like the rest of the year, a clogged outlet in winter can cause even more issues if the frozen conditions cause a pipe to break.
4) What actions can a homeowner take that may live in a HOA with stormwater basins to help keep the basins healthy and functioning?
Remember that what you do on your property ends up in the basin. By keeping your yard stabilized, you will keep excess sediment out of the basin (and prevent costly dredging projects). Minimize your use of fertilizers and test your soil before fertilizing. Excess nutrients from fertilizer can cause unsightly algal blooms in basins. Pick up after your pets! Bacteria from pet waste ends up in your basin and then in our local waterways untreated.
5) What normal routine maintenance would you recommend for stormwater basins in winter months?
A. Winter is a good time for invasive cutback and/or removal.
B. Good time to plan for the spring native seeding/planting and clean up.
C. Keep snow piles out of away from basins (extra nutrients).
D. Erosion issues can enhance from excess runoff (with freeze and thaw).
E. Check pipes/water quality orifice for clogging during freeze and thaw periods (sometimes we can get a rain between snow events – or lots of snow melt runoff)
DID YOU KNOW THAT AQUADOC OFFERS A MONTHLY PREVENTATIVE WINTER STORMWATER BASIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM? WE INCLUDE REGULAR MONTHLY CHECKS ON THE BASIN TO HELP KEEP GARBAGE CLEANED UP, CHECK ON BOTTOM AERATION SYSTEMS, AND CHECK ON THE INFLOWS AND OUTFLOW STRUCTURES TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO CLOGGING. FEEL FREE TO CONTACT OUR OFFICE ANYTIME TO DISCUSS OUR WINTER STORMWATER PROGRAM FOR YOUR BASIN.