Road salt on the city’s bridges raised the river’s chlorine levels, making the water more corrosive. This has continued into the present and may have been one reason poorly-treated Flint River water was so damaging to metal pipes.
I shared this because my city doesn’t use rock salt during winter, and its pretty inconvenient as a driver. So I was surprised to learn why.
It’s disingenuous to say it’s the PRIMARY contributor, but it is a factor!
It also rusts the shit out of cars which is why 3 year old cars from the midwest resemble 30 year old cars from the west coast. I wonder if anyone has ever calculated all the lost capital caused by salting roads. I bet it’s insanely high with the infrastructure and property damage alone.