July 27, 2026
The Cold Climate Stormwater Center of Excellence has released a new public inventory of winter maintenance / chloride reduction training programs across the United States and Canada. Built as a downloadable Google Sheets workbook, it's designed for organizations looking to develop or refine their own training programs, as well as individuals seeking a local or online course.
The inventory grew out of a simple but serious problem: salt helps keep roads safe, but once the ice melts, the salt doesn't disappear. It washes into water bodies, soaks into soils, and seeps into groundwater, accumulating over time, and in the worst cases, forcing drinking water wells to be abandoned or require costly reverse-osmosis treatment. Reducing chloride loading requires understanding how much salt is applied, where, and under what conditions, making training and certification a key lever for change.
After surveying relevant training programs across North America, Center scientists found a diverse landscape of learning opportunities, from multi-day in-person courses to short online modules, serving audiences ranging from municipal plow drivers to private contractors and property managers. Given how much winter maintenance practice shapes downstream chloride levels, the team saw a need to document these programs in one place.
The workbook is organized into two tabs: one cataloging trainings, courses, and certification programs (with details on organization, format, audience, length, cost, and certification status), and a second covering related reports, tools, and outreach resources. Readers can download their own editable copy, then sort and filter by state, resource type, audience, or format to zero in on what's relevant to them.
The long-term goal is to use this workbook as the basis for a searchable online database. Entries marked in red indicate information that couldn't fully be confirmed: team welcomes corrections or additions as the inventory continues to grow!
