Widespread use of NaCl for road deicing
has caused increased chloride
concentrations in lakes near urban centers and areas of high road
density. Chloride can be toxic, and water quality guidelines have
been created to regulate it and protect aquatic life. However, these
guidelines may not adequately protect organisms in low-nutrient, soft
water lakes such as those underlain by the Precambrian Shield. We
tested this hypothesis by conducting laboratory experiments on six Daphnia species using a soft water culture medium. We also
examined temporal changes in cladoceran assemblages in the sediments
of two small lakes on the Canadian Shield: one near a highway and
the other >3 km from roads where salt is applied in the winter.
Our
results showed that Daphnia were sensitive to low
chloride concentrations with decreased reproduction and increased
mortality occurring between 5 and 40 mg Cl–/L. Analysis
of cladoceran remains in lake sediments revealed changes in assemblage
composition that coincided with the initial application of road salt
in this region. In contrast, there were no changes detected in the
remote lake. We found that 22.7% of recreational lakes in Ontario
have chloride concentrations between 5 and 40 mg/L suggesting that
cladoceran zooplankton in these lakes may already be experiencing
negative effects of chloride.
One possible solution to the recent decline of calcium (Ca) concentrations in Canadian Shield forests and lakes in eastern North America is the addition of Ca-rich wood ash to watersheds. We investigated the feasibility of using small, mainly residential sources of non-industrial wood ash (NIWA) for this purpose by quantifying concentrations of its major nutrients and metals, its toxicity to Daphnia in aqueous extracts, and estimating the amount of NIWA available in the District of Muskoka in central Ontario. Locally collected NIWA averaged 30% Ca, and also contained smaller but significant amounts of K, Mg, Na, and P. Of these, K was so soluble that it was toxic to Daphnia over 48 h in the concentrate and 10-fold dilution; however, sedimented ash was not toxic over 15 d. Most metal levels in NIWA were below targets permitting unrestricted land application. However, Cu and Zn were just above these targets, but well below those for conditional use. Muskoka residents generate about 235 000 kg of NIWA annually, not enough to treat all central Ontario areas affected; however, a NIWA recycling programme implemented across southern Ontario could generate enough ash to solve the Ca decline problem in Muskoka’s forests and lakes.
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