Fox Valley aims to conserve road salt usage

Given the sputtering economy, Fox Valley public works departments plan to be as stingy with road salt this holiday season as Americans may be with gifts.

While Elgin this summer bought a year's worth of salt to help ensure they won't run out or have to mix a dwindling amount with sand, city officials have vowed to be conservative with this year's usage.

"Starting about halfway through last season, we went to a more conservative salt usage," Elgin General Services Director Dave Lawry said.

"We're going to maintain that. We're not in the same bind as some other communities - we've got plenty of salt supply. That doesn't mean we should waste it, either."

Lawry said it was impossible to put a number on how many tons of salt the city plans to save, but salt trucks' spreaders will be working at the lowest settings.

Meanwhile, the rum and vodka byproduct Pingree Grove is using to clear its streets has officials saying cheers.

Pat Doherty, head of the village's public works department, reports the substance has been successful at keeping the roads free of snow and ice.

Officials on Sunday pre-treated the roads with the liquid - which is new to Pingree Grove - to prevent roads from freezing.

Monday, workers sprinkled the plowed roads with salt that had been dipped into the substance, called Magic Minus Zero.

Doherty says the village is using 50 percent less salt than it did last year, thanks to Magic Minus Zero, a biodegradable liquid less corrosive than salt alone.

The village bought 4,200 gallons of the liquid, which promises to work in subzero temperatures, primarily to avoid paying steep prices for salt.

On the downside, it has left the town smelling like Chinese take out, said Doherty. He accidentally got some of it in his mouth through a broken hose.

"It smells like soy sauce, it just didn't taste like soy sauce," he said.

South Elgin village officials say salt usage should be on par with last year's.

"When we discussed our budget, there was no conversation about using it any differently than we had in the past," village manager Larry Jones said.

Last year, the village did not run out, "but our salt storage area looked a little empty for awhile," he said.

In Algonquin, rising salt prices have forced the village to take another route when it comes to snow plowing.

This year, officials are applying a mixture of salt and sand in the middle of the roads, but only at the very end of snow storms.

As a result, the 240 lane miles in the village won't be entirely free of snow, said Bob Mitchard, director of the public works department.

"We've been asking people to exercise additional caution when traveling on roads because they're not going to be the same wet, curb-to-curb pavement they've been accustomed to," Mitchard said.

Salt has become a high-priced commodity, particularly in Algonquin, where officials are paying $138.50 a ton. Last year the village purchased 3,000 tons.

Mitchard said his office fielded about a half-dozen calls from residents panning the village's new salting procedures.

"I guess we're doing the best we can, given the circumstances," Mitchard said.

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