Salt supplies dwindling in DuPage County towns

As snowfall totals continue to mount this winter, area towns are watching their supplies of road salt dwindle.

Many officials say they're taking steps to conserve what they have left because of uncertainty about when more might be delivered.

"Basically, we've had a lot of small events this year, a lot of icing earlier in the year, and a lot of snow that's just enough to have to salt, but not enough to have to plow," Itasca Public Works Director Ross Hitchcock said Monday. "We tend to go through a little more salt that way."

Itasca, Wheaton, Aurora and Lombard are among the towns already mixing salt with sand to deal with the shortage.

Many communities also are limiting the areas where they apply salt.

"We're in a using-it-sparingly mode," Wheaton City Manager Don Rose said. "We won't do a full street spread now. We'll do intersections and hills. We won't just go down every street dropping salt like we normally do."

Even with 15,000 tons of salt purchased this year -- 1,400 more than last year -- Naperville is trying to use its supply sparingly. The city has an open contract to purchase another 4,000 tons, but it's among the many that don't know when and if additional salt will be on the way.

The problem, according to Glendale Heights Public Services Director Rick Dime, comes when the state's major rivers freeze and salt-carrying barges aren't able to make the trip to deliver their loads.

Glendale Heights has about 500 tons left and another 500 tons on backorder.

"If we don't get the deliveries that are due this week, I'll be concerned," Dime said.

In the past decade, Keith Surges, Lombard's public works operations superintendent, can't remember the situation being quite this bad. The village has 350 tons left of its original 4,000-ton allotment and has ordered 575 tons more.

"We're trying to stretch out the salt as much as we can," Surges said. "It's a lose-lose battle, but it's one we've got to fight."

Wood Dale is one of the few towns that isn't struggling. Unlike most municipalities that purchase their salt through a state contract, Wood Dale buys directly from Morton Salt.

While the city has used significantly more salt than last year, it doesn't fear running out and will actually share some of its supply with Itasca. Addison also is sharing its salt.

Carol Stream trustees on Monday approved the purchase of about 1,400 additional tons of road salt, which will cost the village about $50,000. In addition, officials approved a transfer to add another $50,000 in the budget for contract snow plowers.

Village Manager Joseph Breinig said the village will go over budget this year on overtime costs for its public works crews, which has amounted to more than $81,000 through Jan. 28.

The village has spent more than $384,000 on snow removal costs through Jan. 28, and that number is expected to rise in the coming weeks.

"I just want this snow to end," Breinig said. "Just on a personal level."

DuPage County transportation leaders said they've received requests to assist other towns, but they're not able to oblige because they don't want to come up short themselves.

Transportation and Operations Director John Kos said DuPage isn't currently experiencing a shortage, but it is being conscientious about its supply.

"We're fine for now, which doesn't mean we're not using salt, because we are. And it doesn't mean we're not concerned about it, because we are," Kos said. "We have used up already what we normally use up during an entire winter season."

• Daily Herald staff writers Catherine Edman, Hafsa Naz Mahmood, Kathryn Grondin, James Fuller, Jake Griffin, Jack Komperda and Kat Zeman contributed to this report.