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Steven Goldsmith, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Villanova University

Oversalting your sidewalk or driveway harms local streams and potentially even your drinking water – 3 tips to deice responsibly

Conservation organizations recommend using one 12-ounce coffee mug of deicer for every 10 sidewalk squares. Joe Lamberti/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Snow has returned to the Philadelphia region, and along with it the white residues on streets and sidewalks that result from the over-application of deicers such as sodium chloride, or rock salt, as well as more modern salt alternatives.

As an environmental scientist who studies water pollution, I know that much of the excess salt flows into storm drains and ultimately into area streams and rivers.

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