Salt Storm(starting) 2012

[scotto]

I came out from my house yesterday morning and noticed the heavy salt build up on both of my vehicles, I hadn't driven on the QEW with the salt trucks working, in fact I didn't even recall seeing any salt trucks at all.
I checked other cars on my street and they were covered as well.

With no salt trucks out the night before and high winds form the west, I drove over to Eastport to see anything could of caused this fallout.
Notice the tarp missing from the salt pile and this section of the Port is directly behind my street.

See how badly our vehicles were covered by the fallout, one could conclude that our houses were also hit, just harder see when not sitting on a windshield or dark paint.

 

[Sharla1]

My area was fine. I guess the wind was blowing only in your direction.

That wind sure was wild yesterday.

 

[scotto]

My area was fine. I guess the wind was blowing only in your direction.

That wind sure was wild yesterday.

Yes there were some very high winds and they were out of the west, also we aren't that far from those storage areas.
I was at the Rescue Unit on Saturday night and the windows looked like there was some salt on them as well, about one kilometer away.

 

[Porky]

wow thats bad its been crazy windy the last few weeks too

like today I had to wait forever at the bridge for the 'construction' or whatever they are doing

 

[scotto]

For the last week or so I have been keeping an eye on the salt piles that impacted our community, it seems the owners don't care if these piles are left uncovered for any lenght of time. And I don't expect a snow storm for at least six or seven months.
The first pic is a shot of the pile from last weekend, I will check next weekend to see if anything has been done to correct the issue.
The added pics are shots of my downspouts that have been damaged by salt.

 

[Sharla1]

Makes one wonder what it's going to do to people's vehicles. It's bad enough for vehicles dealing with road salt in winters.

 

[scotto]

Makes one wonder what it's going to do to people's vehicles. It's bad enough for vehicles dealing with road salt in winters.

Like my neighbours, I had to waste part of my weekend to clean the mess up. That included taking both of my vehicles to the carwash to make sure all the salt was removed. I obviously didn't get it all off my house and now my downspouts are damaged.

 

[Sharla1]

What are they using the salt for?

And where is the pile located?

 

[scotto]

What are they using the salt for?

And where is the pile located?

It is stock piled for use in the winter months on our roads and highways and I guess they didn't have much use for this year as we had a pretty mild year.

Attached is a Google map from 2009, the black tarp is a huge pile of salt, there is much more being stored there now.

 

[Sharla1]

Thanks for the info and the map Scotto. I'm surprised they don't store that at a location further away from the residential areas.

 

[scotto]

Another day with some high winds out of the west, another day with the salt piles impacting our community.

 

[scotto]

Another day with high winds out of the west and south-west, so what to do at the salt piles but add a mountain more of salt (during high winds). Pretty obvious that they don't give a damn about their neighbours. I also don't see how this corrosive material can be too healthy for the equipment, buildings and infrastructure of the tenants along Eastport Dr.
Look at the dark coloured line which shows where the new salt has been added as compared to past photos.

A picture from the blvd which would be down wind from the salt piles.

 

[Sharla1]

And I can't undertstand why they are bringing in and storing so much too when we are getting milder and shorter winters. Let alone bringing it in during the hotter months when it's not needed at all.

And that's the city for you about not caring.

 

[scotto]

And that's the city for you about not caring.

The City has nothing to do with it, the owners of the salt are the Canadian Salt Company and
Windsor Salt who would be considered to be tenants, the owner of the land is the Hamilton Port Authority.

 

[scotto]

And I can't undertstand why they are bringing in and storing so much too when we are getting milder and shorter winters. Let alone bringing it in during the hotter months when it's not needed at all.

I can only assume, it was a mild winter and there wasn't a big demand for salt so the extra salt had to stored somewhere, too bad it is beside our community.

 

[Porky]

I see today they have made a pathetic attempt to cover the exposed area with 'clear' or white tarps but the wind has blown the middle section open

 

[scotto]

I see today they have made a pathetic attempt to cover the exposed area with 'clear' or white tarps but the wind has blown the middle section open

And the wind wasn't that bad today, wait until we get some real gusts.

 

[Sharla1]

I was thinking that too Scotto. We sure are getting some strong winds now in our areas. It's a good thing when that tornado that went through that area in Nov. 2005 it didn't hit that pile of salt. I couldn't imagine the mess that would have made. It was bad enough when it hit that other building not all that far from the salt pile.

How long have they been storing the salt there now?

 

[scotto]

I was thinking that too Scotto. We sure are getting some strong winds now in our areas. It's a good thing when that tornado that went through that area in Nov. 2005 it didn't hit that pile of salt. I couldn't imagine the mess that would have made. It was bad enough when it hit that other building not all that far from the salt pile.

How long have they been storing the salt there now?

I don't recall getting a tornado on the Beach, but yes that would make huge mess.

I see on a Google map that there was a small salt pile in 2004 as compared to mountains they have there now. I have noticed them more in the last few years but didn't pay much attention to them because they (the salt piles) weren't impacting our community.

 

[scotto]

I see today they have made a pathetic attempt to cover the exposed area with 'clear' or white tarps but the wind has blown the middle section open

Last night was very wet and windy, yet no effort to control the amount of salt being lost into the harbour. The winds were out of the east this time so our community wasn't affected, but the habour did get a little more salty.