Road salt shortage forces Ontario cities to put different de-icing plans on their plates

Winter's far from o'er, but Ontario's already veneer a route common salt shortage that's forcing some cities to do adjustments or ration supplies.

Cities are using their salt supplies quickly to de-ice roads and sidewalks due to an early start to winter and more and harsher weather events.

Average precipitation totals for Guelph in November and December are around 40 millimetres of rain and 10 centimetres of snow, said Doug Godfrey, general manager of city operations.

However, "Guelph has experienced above-average levels of precipitation, with November and December receiving 104 millimetres of rain and 30 centimetres of snow," Godfrey said in a statement.

To extend salt supply, more sand or a mix of sand and road salt is being used.

Perth County said it's also faced challenges with salt deliveries to its storage yards, forcing plow operators to make adjustments when de-icing the roads.

The City of Kitchener said it too has "experienced lower-than-expected salt supply" this winter and crews are following best practices to conserve salt.

"This includes providing salt management training for our roads team, weather monitoring and substantial plowing efforts prior to salting or sanding," the city said in a statement.

Despite the shortage, the city added, it has enough salt for future use.

Ontario faces road salt shortage — and it's only January

Demand for road salt is so high that one of world’s largest underground salt mines, in Goderich below Lake Huron, says it can’t keep up despite running full crews round the clock, even through the holidays.

"So when you get a high demand within weeks instead of spread out over a couple of months, that's what we're seeing now."

Road salt shortages are forcing suppliers in the province to prioritize municipalities first, so anyone working with private contractors have had to source their supplies from out of province, such as from Quebec.

"There's just been a huge increase in the need for salt."

Arnts said it costs thousands to get salt from out of province, meaning costumers end up paying more.

"That cost has to be passed along," he said.

Environment and Climate Change Canada says much of Ontario has experienced snowier and wetter conditions.

"With climate change, we have a warmer atmosphere, and a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture," Kidd said.

"When you have more moisture in the atmosphere, that can increase the odds of high impact precipitation events."

Environment Canada meteorologist Rob Kuhn posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that Kitchener saw a record-breaking amount of snowfall on Nov. 9, with 14 centimetres.

Kuhn said that beat the record of 10.2 cm set in 1921 and equalled in 1933.

Kidd said temperatures for December were also below the norm.

"This past December was definitely colder than normal across Ontario," she said. "Seeing a colder-than normal-December is unusual in terms of precipitation."

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