Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Effects of magnesium chloride road deicer on montane stream benthic communities

  • Primary Research Paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Montane streams often intercept and run parallel to roads and highways where road deicer is seasonally applied for snow and ice removal. This research used stream mesocosms to evaluate the effects of MgCl2 road deicer to a Rocky Mountain stream benthic community in Colorado, USA. Measured responses included macroinvertebrate drift, community composition metrics, and macroinvertebrate biomass after a 10-day exposure. Natural benthic communities were exposed to concentrations of liquid MgCl2 road deicer that bracketed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) surface water chronic chloride ‘aquatic life criteria’ (230 mg Cl−/l). Results showed no effects on macroinvertebrate drift, but significant reductions in abundance, taxa richness, and community biomass. Specifically, stonefly (Plecoptera) and mayfly (Ephemeroptera) abundance decreased at Cl− concentrations below the U.S. EPA chronic chloride water quality standard, and at concentrations substantially lower than those generated from traditional laboratory toxicity tests. However, caddisflies (Trichoptera), midges (Chironomidae) and other dipterans were tolerant to all MgCl2 treatments. We conclude that MgCl2 road deicer has the potential to impair montane stream benthic communities at relatively low ionic concentrations, and regulatory agencies should manage for and establish regionally appropriate application rates for this stressor.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Amrhein, C., J. E. Strong & P. A. Mosher, 1992. Effect of deicing salts on metal and organic matter mobilization in roadside soils. Environmental Science & Technology 26: 703–709.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • ANZECC (Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council), 2000. Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality. ANZECC, Canberra.

  • APHA (American Public Health Association), 1989. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. APHA, Washington, D.C.

  • Bastviken, D., P. Sandén, T. Svensson, C. Ståhlberg, M. Magounakis & G. Öberg, 2006. Chloride retention and release in a boreal forest soil: effects of soil water residence time and nitrogen and chloride loads. Environmental Science & Technology 40: 2977–2982.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benbow, M. E. & R. W. Merritt, 2004. Road-salt toxicity of select Michigan wetland macroinvertebrates under different testing conditions. Wetlands 24: 68–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blasius, B. & R. Merritt, 2002. Field and laboratory investigations on the effects of road salt (NaCl) on stream macroinvertebrate communities. Environmental Pollution 120: 219–231.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns Jr., J., 1983. Are single species toxicity tests alone adequate for estimating environmental hazard? Hydrobiologia 100: 47–57.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cañedo-Argüelles, M., C. Hawkins, B. Kefford, R. Schäfer, B. Dyack, S. Brucet, D. Buchwalter, J. Dunlop, O. Frör & J. Lazorchak, 2016. Saving freshwater from salts. Science 351: 914–916.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carlisle, D. M. & W. H. Clements, 2005. Leaf litter breakdown, microbial respiration and shredder production in metal-polluted streams. Freshwater Biology 50: 380–390.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CCME (Canadian Council of Ministries of the Environment), 1999. Canadian water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life: Salinity. In Canadian environmental quality guidelines. CCME, Winnipeg.

  • Clark, J. L. & W. H. Clements, 2006. The use of in situ and stream microcosm experiments to assess population-and community-level responses to metals. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 25: 2306–2312.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, W. H., 1994. Benthic invertebrate community responses to heavy metals in the Upper Arkansas River Basin, Colorado. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13: 30–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, W. H., 2004. Small-scale experiments support causal relationships between metal contamination and macroinvertebrate community responses. Ecological Applications 14: 954–967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, W. H. & C. Kotalik, 2016. Effects of major ions on natural benthic communities: an experimental assessment of the US Environmental Protection Agency aquatic life benchmark for conductivity. Freshwater Science 35: 126–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, W. H., D. S. Cherry & J. Cairns, 1988. Structural alterations in aquatic insect communities exposed to copper in laboratory streams. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 7: 715–722.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, W. H., C. W. Hickey & K. A. Kidd, 2012. How do aquatic communities respond to contaminants? It depends on the ecological context. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 31: 1932–1940.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, W. H., P. Cadmus & S. F. Brinkman, 2013. Responses of aquatic insects to Cu and Zn in stream microcosms: understanding differences between single species tests and field responses. Environmental Science & Technology 47: 7506–7513.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), 2011. The basic standards and methodologies for surface water. Regulation no. 31 5 CCR 1002-31. CDPHE, Water quality control commission, Denver, Colorado.

  • Cooper, C. A., P. M. Mayer & B. R. Faulkner, 2014. Effects of road salts on groundwater and surface water dynamics of sodium and chloride in an urban restored stream. Biogeochemistry 121: 149–166.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cormier, S. M., G. W. Suter & L. Zheng, 2013. Derivation of a benchmark for freshwater ionic strength. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 32: 263–271.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corsi, S. R., D. J. Graczyk, S. W. Geis, N. L. Booth & K. D. Richards, 2010. A fresh look at road salt: aquatic toxicity and water-quality impacts on local, regional, and national scales. Environmental Science & Technology 44: 7376–7382.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crowther, R. & H. Hynes, 1977. The effect of road deicing salt on the drift of stream benthos. Environmental Pollution (1970) 14: 113–126.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cuffney, T. F., R. A. Brightbill, J. T. May & I. R. Waite, 2010. Responses of benthic macroinvertebrates to environmental changes associated with urbanization in nine metropolitan areas. Ecological Applications 20: 1384–1401.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, M. A., E. Snyder, D. Yonkin, M. Ross & T. Elsen, 2008. Accumulation of deicing salts in soils in an urban environment. Urban Ecosystems 11: 17–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Mendiburu, F., 2014. Agricolae: Statistical procedures for agricultural research. R Package Version 1: 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demers, C. L. & R. W. Sage Jr., 1990. Effects of road deicing salt on chloride levels in four Adirondack streams. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 49: 369–373.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Environment Canada, 2004. Code of practice for the environmental management of road salts. EPS 1/CC/5.

  • Erickson, R. J., D. R. Mount, T. L. Highland, J. R. Hockett, D. J. Hoff, C. T. Jenson, T. J. Norberg-King & K. N. Peterson, 2016. The acute toxicity of major ion salts to Ceriodaphnia dubia. II. Empirical relationships in binary salt mixtures. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 9999: 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fay, L. & X. Shi, 2012. Environmental impacts of chemicals for snow and ice control: state of the knowledge. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 223: 2751–2770.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, S. E. & V. R. Kelly, 2011. Emerging indirect and long-term road salt effects on ecosystems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1223: 58–68.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fleeger, J. W., K. R. Carman & R. M. Nisbet, 2003. Indirect effects of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Science of the Total Environment 317: 207–233.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, J., M. Ash, T. Boye, S. Calza, A. Chang, P. Grosjean, R. Heiberger, G. Kerns, R. Lancelot & M. Lesnoff, 2007. Rcmdr: R commander. R Package Version: 1.3—11.

  • Goodrich, B. A., R. D. Koski & W. R. Jacobi, 2009. Condition of soils and vegetation along roads treated with magnesium chloride for dust suppression. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 198: 165–188.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Griffith, M. B., 2014. Natural variation and current reference for specific conductivity and major ions in wadeable streams of the conterminous USA. Freshwater Science 33: 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, B. T., P. Bailey, R. Edwards, K. Hortle, K. James, A. McMahon, C. Meredith & K. Swadling, 1991. A review of the salt sensitivity of the Australian freshwater biota. Hydrobiologia 210: 105–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, K. W. & J. Haynes, 1993. Groundwater contamination due to road de-icing chemicals—salt balance implications. Geoscience Canada 20: 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, R. B. & E. G. Jobbagy, 2005. From icy roads to salty streams. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102: 14487–14488.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaushal, S. S., P. M. Groffman, G. E. Likens, K. T. Belt, W. P. Stack, V. R. Kelly, L. E. Band & G. T. Fisher, 2005. Increased salinization of fresh water in the northeastern United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102: 13517–13520.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kefford, B. J., D. Nugegoda, L. Zalizniak, E. J. Fields & K. L. Hassell, 2007. The salinity tolerance of freshwater macroinvertebrate eggs and hatchlings in comparison to their older life-stages: a diversity of responses. Aquatic Ecology 41: 335–348.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kefford, B. J., G. L. Hickey, A. Gasith, E. Ben-David, J. E. Dunlop, C. G. Palmer, K. Allan, S. C. Choy & C. Piscart, 2012. Global scale variation in the salinity sensitivity of riverine macroinvertebrates: eastern Australia, France, Israel and South Africa. PLoS ONE 7(5): e35224.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kiffney, P. M. & W. H. Clements, 1994. Effects of heavy metals on a macroinvertebrate assemblage from a Rocky Mountain stream in experimental microcosms. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13: 511–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiffney, P. M. & W. H. Clements, 1996. Effects of metals on stream macroinvertebrate assemblages from different altitudes. Ecological Applications 6: 472–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, W. M. & W. E. Analysts, 1999. Studies of environmental effects of magnesium chloride deicer in Colorado. Colorado Department of Transportation, Research Branch.

  • Martínez-Jerónimo, F. & L. Martínez-Jerónimo, 2007. Chronic effect of NaCl salinity on a freshwater strain of Daphnia magna Straus (Crustacea: Cladocera): a demographic study. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 67: 411–416.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mount, D. R., R. J. Erickson, T. L. Highland, J. R. Hockett, D. J. Hoff, C. T. Jenson, T. J. Norberg-King, K. N. Peterson, Z. M. Polaske & S. Wisniewski, 2016. The acute toxicity of major ion salts to Ceriodaphnia dubia: I. Influence of background water chemistry. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 35: 3039–3057.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pond, G. J., M. E. Passmore, F. A. Borsuk, L. Reynolds & C. J. Rose, 2008. Downstream effects of mountaintop coal mining: comparing biological conditions using family-and genus- level macroinvertebrate bioassessment tools. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 27: 717–737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team, 2012. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna.

  • Ramakrishna, D. M. & T. Viraraghavan, 2005. Environmental impact of chemical deicers–a review. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 166: 49–63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarma, S., S. Nandini, J. Morales-Ventura, I. Delgado-Martínez & L. González-Valverde, 2006. Effects of NaCl salinity on the population dynamics of freshwater zooplankton (rotifers and cladocerans). Aquatic Ecology 40: 349–360.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soucek, D. & A. Dickinson, 2015. Full-life chronic toxicity of sodium salts to the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer in tests with laboratory cultured food. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 34: 2126–2137.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • TRB (Transportation Research Board), 2007. Guidelines for Selection of Snow and Ice Control Materials to Mitigate Environmental Impacts. NCHRP Report 577. Washington, D.C.

  • USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), 1988. Ambient aquatic life water quality criteria for chloride. EPA 440/5—88—001. USEPA, Washington, D.C.

  • Williams, D. D., N. E. Williams & Y. Cao, 2000. Road salt contamination of groundwater in a major metropolitan area and development of a biological index to monitor its impact. Water Research 34: 127–138.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, L., D. H. Funk & D. B. Buchwalter, 2010. Trophic transfer of Cd from natural periphyton to the grazing mayfly Centroptilum triangulifer in a life cycle test. Environmental Pollution 158: 272–277.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zehetner, F., U. Rosenfellner, A. Mentler & M. H. Gerzabek, 2009. Distribution of road salt residues, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons across a highway-forest interface. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 198: 125–132.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Nicole Vieira and Adam Herdrich for logistical support during this study. David Rees and Timberline Aquatics, Inc. provided taxonomic assistance in identifying macroinvertebrates, and Stephen Brinkman at Colorado Parks and Wildlife Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory assisted with water chemistry analyses. Special thanks to Colorado Department of Transportation which provided the liquid road deicer used in the study. Comments by Sam Duggan and 3 anonymous reviewers are greatly appreciated. Funding for this study was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (G13AC00384). Views expressed in this manuscript are not necessarily those of the USGS, Timberline Aquatics, Inc., Colorado Parks and Wildlife, or the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Christopher J. Kotalik, William H. Clements & Pete Cadmus

  2. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 317 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA

    Pete Cadmus

Authors
  1. Christopher J. Kotalik
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William H. Clements
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pete Cadmus
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher J. Kotalik.

Additional information

Handling editor: Marcello Moretti

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 196 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kotalik, C.J., Clements, W.H. & Cadmus, P. Effects of magnesium chloride road deicer on montane stream benthic communities. Hydrobiologia 799, 193–202 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3212-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3212-5

Keywords