A mild winter so far is translating to less salt use in La Grange, Westerns Springs and La Grange Park. The communities are using less salt to clear ice and snow-covered roads and are sending out fewer snow-clearing equipment and racking up fewer overtime hours.
As of early February, the village of La Grange had 400 tons of salt that it had not yet used. For a winter season that extends from November to April, the public works had ordered 900 tons.
“”It’s significantly less than what we normally use,” said Ryan Gillingham, public works director.
The village is saving in other ways, too.
“There is less wear and tear on vehicles and less overtime,” Gillingham said.
More Top Picks Best Foam Sleeping Pads Under 10 Dollars
The village had used about $56,000 of $100,000 in its budget for snow-clearing. The money that is not spent on recovering from winter storms goes back into the general fund.
The village of La Grange Park also is enjoying a winter in which there is less need to sprinkle roads with salt. The village reports it used 229 tons of salt from November through Jan. 31. During the same time period last it used 285 tons.
“The winter before that had far more snow events and we used 489 tons during the same time period that year,” said public works director Brendan McLaughlin.
Salt costs the village $80.15 per-ton delivered.
Like Gillinghman, McLaughlin said there are other savings being realized.
“While it is good to be using less salt this year, the better outcome is that we have had fewer plowing events,” McLaughlin said. “The bigger snows take a lot more hours and use more salt. It is a benefit to everyone to have fewer overtime callouts. Also, the fewer plow operations results in less wear and tear on the plows.”
In Western Springs, the village usually uses about 500 tons of salt to clear its roads. This winter season, it had used 250 tons by early February.
“Usually we go through the entire storage shed or more,” said Casey Biernacki, municipal services coordinator.
Any salt that isn’t used will be saved for next winter. The salt will still be good to use as long as its shifted around occasionally so it doesn’t stick together.
“Sometimes you have to move it around,” Biernacki said. “You can’t let it sit too long.”
As winter inches toward a close, Gillingham said it is still to early to say there won’t be another large storm or more that will require the use of salt and other resources.
“You never know,” he said. “February can still be a snowy month.”
twitter: triblocalam