Have you heard about the City of Timmins’ Salt Management Plan (SMP)?
The City strives to ensure salt is only applied in a controlled and effective manner when required, in the right amount, at the right time and in the right place. The SMP includes best practices respecting environmental risk, storage and application while ensuring road safety.
Salt Management Plan Facts
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The City of Timmins has approximately 450 centre line kilometres. Within this, 100 center line kilometres are higher volume arterial or high speed secondary roads which are maintained with salt.
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Plowing is the preferred method of removing snow and ice from the road surface; however, plowing alone cannot remove ice that has become bonded to the pavement. Salt is used as a de-icing chemical to deal with this bond.
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The City of Timmins uses Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Automatic Vehicle Location system (AVL), infrared pavement thermometers, electronic spreader controls and good housekeeping along with improved staff training and documentation to track and reduce salt usage.
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The salt spreaders are calibrated two (2) times per season to ensure application rates are strictly adhered to. The GPS/AVL keeps
track of the location and application rate where all the road salt material is
spread.
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The SMP identifies two (2) locations that are considered to be Salt Vulnerable Areas, where salt application rates must be strictly adhered to in order to minimize the risk of contamination to the drinking water supply. Visit www.dwsp.ca for more information on the Intake Protection Zones identified in the Mattagami River Source Protection Plan:
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Intake Protection Zone 1 - the immediate area closest to the Timmins Water Filtration Plant Intake
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Intake Protection Zone 2 - the next closest area to the intake and extends to a minimum 2-hour time of travel upstream of the intake