Project Description:
This project evaluates strategies to reduce road salt overuse in Montgomery County, Maryland, which has contributed to rising chloride levels in local waterways and associated environmental and public health impacts. Partnering with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), our team analyzed six existing salt reduction programs across the United States to identify effective and feasible approaches for expanding the DEP's current SaltWise program. The study combined a literature review, interviews with program experts, stakeholder surveys of salt applicators and property managers, and a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to compare programs based on cost, time to implement, ease of implementation, scalability, and participation. Findings indicate that oversalting is driven largely by liability concerns and low awareness, and that voluntary programs alone are insufficient to achieve widespread behavior change. Based on these insights, we recommend a hybrid strategy that integrates targeted outreach, training, incentives, and gradual policy development to reduce salt use while maintaining public safety.
