Winter Maintenance Professionals

In order to reduce oversalting, the City of Madison has created a voluntary Winter Salt Certification Program, open to all public and private winter maintenance professionals in Dane County. Applicators are trained on best practices and new methods for fighting snow and ice while keeping parking lots, roads, sidewalks and driveways safe. Local residents can find applicators that are committed to both environmental and public safety. Learn more about this program.

If you are interested in purchasing brine from Dane County you can contact Dan Behrend, Operations Manager for Dane County Highway Department at Behrend@danecounty.gov .  Please note that the county can only sell to municipal/public entities. The current price is $0.33 per gallon.

There are a number of tools and resources that can help you use the least amount of salt to get the job done. Click on a tool below for more information:

• Locally tailored application rate guidelines and calculator: to calculate the correct amount of salt needed for the job. 
• Winter Parking Lot and Sidewalk Maintenance Manual (PDF): practical advice for those managing parking lots and sidewalks.
• Winter Roadway Maintenance Manual (PDF): focus on tools, best practices, and limitations for snow and ice control, such as anti-icing, prewetting, and pretreating. Research projects and reports are cited to support recommended practices.
• Winter Maintenance Assessment tool
• Calibration examples
• Model snow and ice policies
• Model contracts

• Case studies: Many winter maintenance professionals are taking action to reduce their salt use while maintaining public safety. 
• Handout for Winter Maintenance Professionals
• Clear Roads: research for winter highway maintenance
• MN Approved/Qualified Snow and Ice Chemical Products
• DCI Map: has a tool to measure area

• Go iLawn (paid app): tools to measure areas and map out properties