Item B - Ice and Snow Policy - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Water Quality: City Water Quality staff has been monitoring the potential impacts of the deicers on the city's water quality for numerous years. Most recently, a study was done by Water Quality in 1998. The study found no significant impacts to water quality and aquatic life from the deicers. Water Quality will continue to evaluate and monitor water quality as materials continue to be used and as new materials are introduced. Numerous other studies have been done outside of the city regarding deicers and their impacts on water quality. Staff is unaware of any concerns of significance identified in these reports regarding the materials we use in our operations. New Products Being Tested: There are chloride-free liquid deicers on the market. These products are considered "organic" by the industry. However, their effectiveness is still being determined. These products are also extremely expensive. We are testing a liquid deicer this year called "NC3000." It is potassium acetate and contains no chlorides. However, it costs $2.50/gallon, 450 percent more than current liquid deicer costs per gallon. The product will be used sparingly until its effectiveness is determined. The product will also be used sparingly in order to stay within the appropriated materials budget. There is a new enhanced Ice Slicer product on the market called "Ice Slicer Elite." This product is treated with a corrosion inhibitor. Ice Slicer Elite passes PNSDOT standards with a corrosion rate of 30 (70 percent less corrosive than salt); however, it is significantly more expensive than Ice Slicer. Ice Slicer costs $59/ton and Ice Slicer Elite costs $138/ton. Staff believes that it might be able to "make" its own product by spraying the Ice $1icerwith Caliber (magnesium chloride and Ice Ban). There is a spray facility at the Municipal Service Center that can be used to create this new product. (In the past, the city used to spray its sand and gravel with the magnesium chloride in this spray facility). Staff will soon begin testing this process. Product Costs and Trade-offs: The city has been progressive in trying to use the best, most cost-effective materials to deal with snow and ice. The city has deliberately moved away from traction materials that do not melt and must be swept up. Traction materials that dissolve (crystallized deicers) help the city reduce PM10 and reduce sweeping costs for snow and ice. This allows the sweepers to be put to use on bike lanes and other high demand areas. Moving to new "alternative" materials is costly. "Freezgard" - the original magnesium chloride liquid deicer used by the city cost $.26/gallon. The deicer now being used, Caliber MIO00, costs $.56/gallon - doubling material costs. Chloride free deicers are very expensive - ranging from $2.50 - $4.00/gallon for liquid deicers and from $400 to $950/ton for crystallized deicers. For comparison, we currently pay $.56/gallon for liquid deicer and $59/ton for the crystallized deicer. The city uses on average 300,000 gallons of liquid deicer per year ($168,000) and on average 785 tons of crystallized traction material per year ($46,315) - for a total material cost of approximately $214,315/year. If the city were to move to the chloride free deicers it is anticipated that the material cost of the program will increase 500 percent or from $215,000/year to $1 million dollars per year. Staff has found that the price of materials comes down approximately 2-3 years after the product is introduced, and believes that the "chloride-free" products will be more reasonable within the next five years. 4