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!
I was stunned moving to Chicago from Tulsa! Back home we only use sand, which is annoying as hell as it doesn’t go away as easily.
But damn, cars rusted out overnight. The crappy minivan I drove down to Florida had to be trashed within 2-months of arriving. Undercarriage so rotten it wasn’t sane to repair the brakes. And that was after a fuel line popped a week before!
Wondered why I didn’t see many old cars in Chicagoland.