Here is a study on the effects of road salt conducted by the state of Maryland.
Road salt is one of the leading contributors to the decline of May flies. This equates the more snow storms in a winter the more road salt used. The more road salt used the less Mayflies survive to hatch. I was concerned by the brook trout finding. Something TU should do similar research on.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/streams/pdfs/RoadSalt2013.pdf
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Toxicity also depends on length of exposure. Long-term exposure is more
harmful than acute exposure. Mayflies, stoneflies, and caddissflies are the most salt sensitive
stream insects
stream insects (Hartman et al. 2005; Pond et al. 2008; Pond 2010). Certain
dragonflies, crustaceans, beetles, and true flies tolerate the highest salt concentrations
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The group of benthic macroinvertebrates in Maryland streams that tends to be most
sensitive to pollution and watershed disturbance is the mayflies. The richness (number of
genera) within this insect order declined with increasing chloride concentration at MBSS
sites (Figure 7). Almost no mayflies were found in streams with chloride concentrations
greater than 500 mg/L.
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brook trout are only present in streams with
chloride levels less than 280 mg/L (Figure 8). The highest densities of brook trout are
found in streams with low chloride concentrations (less than 100 mg/L).