Speaker: Richard Othmer, Highway Superintendent - Town of Kent, NY
Could you describe why you purchased treated salt?
Richard Othmer: I live in the Hudson Valley. My town is basically 70% New York City watershed. Um The town has been using for years, a 5050 salt sand mix and I was looking for an alternative because a lot of people's wells are going bad with too much salt and the sand has been collecting at the bottom of my many lakes and reservoirs and it forms a seal and cuts off the uh the natural lake bottom for, you know, for normal aquatic growth. So I looked in the different items and um I connected with innovative um about this at one of the seminars up in Buffalo. And um I have been experimenting with two years with the salt type two which has magnesium chloride and molasses in it. And I cut my sand out completely, which is now saving me a lot of money and time for the spring cleanup. It's stopping the collection of the sand at the bottom of the lakes. And I'm actually using,
If you had to choose one, what would be your favorite feature of treated salt? How has it made your life easier?
Richard Othmer: Uh I'm gonna have to say the sand clean up in the springtime. It's labor intensive. It, it's very costly. I have to rinse sweepers. I basically sweep all summer long and it takes my manpower away and then I have to get rid of the sand to begin with. And then it seems like before I know it, winter is coming in again. So the, the expense and the labor for the sand and the environmental benefits of not using the sand, I think is probably gonna be my favorite feature of right away.
What would you tell someone who's considering using treated salt?
Richard Othmer: Uh What I would say is if you are unsure and to pull the trigger, just designate 20% of your roads next year and use just this product in that percentage of road and keep records and you can see the difference. I know we haven't had as many cold days as before, but I know this year a lot of my roads are black because it does form a where they usually would not be black with the 5050 sand mix and just do a comparison study. I keep accurate records of how much salt and how much sand and how much snowfall II I accumulate every year and how much I use. So I would, I would do a comparison study before you jump. You know, if you're a little hesitant, do it like that. And the other thing I find also is I have less jamming in my and my spreaders because of the granular san sand.
On a scale of one to ten, how likely are you to recommend treated salt to others?
Richard Othmer: I would give it a 10. Um, I'm very happy with it. I am going to continue to use it. And, um, I, I give a full recommendation. I know recently up in Albany,
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