Now that spring is finally here, it is a good time to think about another major source of salt adding chloride to our lakes, streams and groundwater. In addition to the salt used for deicing our roads, parking lots and sidewalks in the winter months, salt used in water softening also contributes a significant amount of chlorides to our freshwater resources. Water softeners use salt to help remove hard water minerals from water before it is used in our homes and buildings. Once used, the salt ends up in our waterways or groundwater.
There are steps you can take to improve the efficiency of your water softening system, reduce salt use and discharge, and save operating costs.
