The City of Elyria was recently awarded $60,536 in the second round of grant funding by Ohio EPA’s new H2Ohio Rivers Chloride Reduction Grant Program. This funding will be used for the purchase of a brine making machine. Brine is used to pre-treat roads during winter weather and helps reduce the need for salt.
“We’re thrilled to receive this award,” said Elyria’s Mayor Kevin Brubaker.” This machine will allow us to make our own brine in-house, which is more cost-effective and better for our waterways. My team did a great job in securing this award and I appreciate the help from our grant writers at McCauley and Company.”
The award is part of the $2.7 million in grants for 52 Ohio communities announced on August 1, 2024, by Governor Mike DeWine to upgrade equipment and salt storage facilities. The H2Ohio Rivers Program is an expansion of Governor DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative. Part of the program is to reduce excessive road salt usage and encourage communities and jurisdictions responsible for winter road and surface maintenance to adopt salt best management practices.
Recent water quality testing has shown that Ohio’s waterways are seeing an increase in salt concentrations, primarily due to the use of road salt. Salt can also cause nutrients and metals to detach from sediment, decreasing water quality. There are many drinking water facilities across the state that utilize river water for their source of drinking water. Water that is contaminated with road salt requires additional treatment. Additionally, road salt can cause issues with corrosion in pipes, valves, and other drinking water equipment. Road salt also corrodes infrastructure like bridges and shortens the life of paved surfaces.
The City of Elyria is committed to improving salt management in our community and reducing salt content in our riverways. The City thanks the Ohio EPA for their continued support in these efforts.