In the latest revelation, it has been seen that the freshwater lakes in North America are gradually becoming saline. A recent study claims that this unexpected rise in salinity is due to the developmental works and exposure to road salt.
According to Phys.org, a total of 371 lakes were taken into consideration for the study. Out of these, 44 percent were found to have an inclination towards long-term salinity. The study is the first of its kind, analyzing trends of chlorine to be present in the freshwater lakes. It is done under the GLEON (Global Lake Ecology Observatory Network) Fellowship Program, which is an initiative to educate the new generation of freshwater scientists and practitioners.
The 371 lakes whose saline trends were scrutinized are from the areas of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and some more states of Northern America. Researchers say that almost 23 million metric tons of sodium chloride based mixture is used to melt away the snow accumulated on the roads of Northern America. Much of this road salt gets into the nearby water bodies and is thus recognized as a main source of salinity to the streams, rivers and lakes and ground water.
According to CBC News, the study claims that if the lakes of the Northern region of America continue to get polluted at the current rate, 7770 number of lakes in total will be at risk. Salinity in lakes can affect the whole ecosystem, ranging from smaller plankton to bigger fishes. Salt can also make the lakes vulnerable to attacks from harmful algae. Although a lot of salt is required to kill a lake completely, but only a little amount is enough to make it sick, say the researchers.
Looking at the imminent risk, Canada has already started an attempt to reduce the use of road salt. The government has installed a voluntary code, restricting the cities and municipalities to cut down the usage of road salt. About three-quarters of the municipalities have responded with positive feedback.
Although the municipalities are trying their level best to curb the usage of road salt, the main problem, the researchers say, lies with the private businesses and homeowners. They also warn that if the situation remains unchanged, most lakes in Northern America will exceed the safe salt level within the next 50 years.
