Groundwater as a source and pathway for road salt contamination of surface water in the Lake Ontario Basin: A review

Abstract

In Ontario, there is limited comprehensive research regarding the contribution of chloride in groundwater to surface water systems. The delivery of chloride via groundwater can contribute to the degradation of the Great Lakes and their tributaries. Thus, this review intends to fill or identify knowledge gaps regarding assessing groundwater as a potential source of road salt, the single largest use of salt in urban cold region environments, contamination to surface water by synthesizing existing groundwater chloride research in the Lake Ontario Basin. Knowledge regarding source characterization, properties, pathways, and impacts of chloride in the environment is essential to evaluate the contribution of chloride via groundwater. Past groundwater chloride research in the basin is primarily concentrated in highly urbanized areas and has identified localized trends of increasing groundwater chloride concentrations in these regions; however, few investigations have been conducted in varying land uses (e.g., rural or less urbanized watersheds) or at sufficient temporal and/or spatial scales. Significant chloride accumulation is occurring in watersheds and aquifers within the basin. Concentrations are expected to increase until equilibrium is obtained, thus resulting in sustained yearlong elevated concentrations in tributaries. Recently, chloride loading to Lake Ontario has increased significantly, with groundwater inputs having the potential to support long-term increases in chloride concentrations in the lake. However, few studies have evaluated the explicit contribution via groundwater to Lake Ontario, and therefore a knowledge gap continues to exist. We provide a synthesis of additional research priorities to better understand the magnitude of groundwater chloride issues in the basin.