Road salt runoff threatens North American lakes

WASHINGTON - Salting of roads in winter helps drivers navigate snow and ice, but the runoff may be irreparably damaging freshwater lakes in the United States and Canada, researchers warned on Monday.

Most of the 371 North American freshwater lakes in the US Northeast and Midwest and Ontario province in Canada are showing an increase in salinity from chloride runoff, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And if the trend continues it could doom aquatic life and reduce water quality, limiting the supply of drinking and irrigation water, the researchers said.