2025 Salt Symposium
The 2025 Salt Symposium will be held August 5-6, 2025. This event celebrates the optimization of salt use to improve community sustainability and protect vital freshwater systems and infrastructure.
The Salt Symposium brings together leaders from diverse economic sectors to learn about the impacts of chloride and reduction methods. Professionals from across the world will share their expertise on current research initiatives including water softening, wastewater, fertilizer, snow and ice management, and more.
This event is live-stream only.
If you have questions or requests, email Salt Symposium.
Salt Symposium Resources
- Our Sponsors
- Leadership Award Nominations
- Technical Assistance
- Future Topic Suggestions
2024 Speaker Presentation Info
Morning session brought to you by MPCA
Connie is recognized as a national expert on salt reduction strategies. With 40 years’ of experience, she began her career in the software design industry before leaving to put her energy into protecting the environment and our waters. In 1996, she founded Fortin Consulting with the goal to unite citizens, environmental organization, and industry leaders in protecting freshwater resources. In the beginning of 2022, Fortin Consulting was acquired by Bolton & Menk, Inc. where Connie has been working on integrating her extensive knowledge on chloride and its impacts into the Bolton & Menk’s repertoire. She enjoys finding ways to facilitate change that is both practical and progressive.
John McDaris, Ph.D.
8:40 AM – Using High-frequency Measurements of Specific Conductance to Infer Real-time Groundwater Chloride Concentrations
Carleton College (MN), Science Education Associate
John McDaris recently completed his PhD in hydrogeophysics at the University of Minnesota where he studied the use of real-time, continuous measurements of simple physical parameters for monitoring water quality in the aquifers supplying the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. He is currently a Science Education Associate at the Science Education Resource Center of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he has worked for more than 20 years designing and implementing grant-funded projects in education research and professional development.
Christoph-Martin Geilfus
9:10 AM – Chloride in soil: From Nutrient to Soil Pollutant and Plant Toxicant
Geisenheim University (Germany), Professor
Christoph-Martin Geilfus studied Agricultural Science and Environmental Management (B.Sc.) and Agrobiotechnology (M.Sc.) at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany, before completing a doctorate in Plant Nutrition at Christian Albrechts University in Kiel. His research primarily focused on the effects of chloride and sodium concentrations on crops such as maize and faba beans, with an emphasis on cell wall rheological properties. He later habilitated at the same university, working on root-shoot signaling relevant to the regulation of plant transpiration and expanding his research portfolio to include nutritional physiology topics.
Following positions at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and the University of Hohenheim, he was appointed Professor of Controlled Environment Horticulture at Humboldt University in Berlin. There, his work focused on circular systems for vegetable production and projects aimed at stabilizing the yields and qualities of food crops. In September 2021, he joined the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition at Geisenheim University as a full professor. At Geisenheim, his research has expanded to include grapevines, with a stronger focus on the soil-plant interface.
Eric Peterson, Ph.D.
9:40 AM – Chloride in Agriculture
Illinois State University, Professor and Chair
Eric Peterson is a University Professor of Hydrogeology and Chair of the Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment at Illinois State University. Eric’s research focuses on the interaction of surface water and groundwater in agricultural and urban settings. Eric and his students have been investigating the contribution of chloride (salts) from agriculture to the environment and to streams in rural areas. Other aspects of his work include understanding the role of wetlands and saturated riparian buffers in improving the water quality from tile drained agricultural fields. In 2022, the Hydrogeology Division of the Geological Society of America recognized Eric with the George Burke Maxey Distinguished Service Award.
Eric Watkins
10:30 AM – Optimization of Salt-tolerant Roadside Turfgrass Seed Mixtures
University of Minnesota, Professor
Eric Watkins is a professor in the Department of Horticultural Science and vice provost for distributed learning at the University of Minnesota. Current research activities involve identifying turfgrass mixtures for Minnesota roadsides, germplasm improvement of several turfgrass species, and projects investigating approaches to reduce winter damage on cool season turfgrasses. In his administrative role, Eric provides leadership for online educational programs across the five-campus University of Minnesota system.
Sam Worden
11:00 AM – The Hard Task of Softening Water in Multifamily Housing
Sustain Dane (WI), Program Coordinator
Sam (she/her) was born in Madison and holds a bachelor’s degree from Butler University in Biology and Environmental Studies with a minor in Spanish. Sam’s role with Sustain Dane focuses on program coordination and implementation while also supporting fund development through partnership and membership growth. Sam also helps support Sustain Dane’s Efficiency Navigator program, which helps small to medium-sized multifamily housing become more efficient, affordable, and resilient while reducing operating costs for owners and energy cost burden for residents. Within this program, Sam leads the water softener optimization and replacement measures by working with property owners and local contractors.
Baishali Bakshi
11:30 AM – Managing Minnesota’s Chloride Problem: An Analysis of the Role of Centralized Softening
Environmental Protection Agency, Economist
Baishali Bakshi has been an economist with the Water Economics Center within the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water since January 2024. She has worked as an economist in the Water Quality Standards unit within the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for the past seven years. She studies the costs and benefits of protecting water resources and the valuation of water based on provision of beneficial uses and ecosystem services.
Afternoon session brought to you by Cargill
Emily Jones
1:00 PM – Plumbing Strategies to Reduce Chloride Pollution
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Pollution Prevention Specialist
Emily Jones is a Pollution Prevention Specialist at Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. Her work is focused on reducing pollutants to the sewer system through education, program development and administration, and work with community stakeholders. Her specific focus areas include chloride reduction, mercury minimization, and coordinating the district’s tours program. She has a Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin- Madison with majors in biology and life sciences communication.
1:30 PM – City of Waukesha Softener Salt Optimization Program
Tim Young
City of Waukesha (WI), Pretreatment Coordinator
Tim Young is the Pretreatment Coordinator for the City of Waukesha Clean Water Plant. Tim has worked in the environmental field for the past 36 years. A graduate of the Milwaukee Area Technical College Environmental Health/Water & Wastewater program, Tim has extensive experience with consulting, field work, and industrial permitting. His goal is to protect the Plant and waterways by managing pollutants of concern such as chloride, while he seeks to educate industrial, commercial and residential customers on the impacts of salt use and the need for softener optimization.
Jim Fisher, P.E.
Jacobs Solutions, Water Pollution Control and Resource Recovery Senior Technologist
Jim is a senior technologist with 35 years’ experience at Jacobs and CH2M Hill, specializing in treatment processes for water resource recovery facilities. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil/Environmental Engineering from University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from University of Wisconsin – Madison. Jim has been supporting the Waukesha Clean Water Plant since 2017 related to returning treated effluent to the Lake Michigan watershed in conjunction with the City of Waukesha Water Utility’s switch from well water to Lake Michigan water. Jim’s primary involvement has been supporting chloride compliance, phosphorus compliance, return flow management scenarios to meet compact water balance requirements, and associated sizing of the return flow pump station.
James Morin
2:00 PM – Tree Browning – Chloride Monitoring Program
Washington State Department of Transportation, Maintenance Operations Branch Manager
James grew up in Eastern Oregon working in the family logging business until the late 80’s when he began commercial fishing in Bristol Bay Alaska. He graduated from Central Washington University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in resource management. After a short stint with Washington State Department of Wildlife he went to work with Washington State Department Of Transportation where he has worked for the past 26 years in a variety of roles. Over the last 10 years he has served as the Maintenance Operations Manager at Headquarters Maintenance. He has been involved in Clear Roads over the past 9 years and is a former Clear Roads chair.
Abby Hileman
2:30 PM – The Salt Watch Community Science Initiative
Izaak Walton League of America, Salt Watch Coordinator
Abby Hileman is the Salt Watch Coordinator at the Izaak Walton League of America. She has been with the League since August 2022. In her role, Abby leads the efforts of the Salt Watch program, expanding the project into new regions across the country, reaching new groups of volunteers, and providing resources to make lasting change—from data to action.
Abby received her Bachelor of Science in Biology at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She has a passion for connecting people to their communities and to nature and believes that small scale actions add up to make a big impact on conservation success.
Morning session brought to you by MPCA
Ryan Sorichetti, Ph.D.
8:40 AM – Status and Trends of Chloride in Ontario’s Freshwater
Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Great Lakes Ecologist
Dr. Ryan Sorichetti is a Great Lakes Ecologist and Research Scientist for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. His work is focused on Great Lakes nearshore water quality and leads special focus projects on shoreline areas undergoing changes, or with impairments, in water quality. Ryan has been an MECP scientist since 2017 leading many Great Lakes and tributary research studies, including the amalgamation, analysis and reporting of historical ambient chloride (road salt) trends in rivers, lakes, and groundwater across the province. Ryan completed his Ph.D. in 2014 at Western University in aquatic sciences with a focus on trace metals (iron) limitation on cyanobacterial growth in lakes and has continued research interest in biogeochemical nutrient cycling, algal physiology and taxonomy, lake physical processes and climate change science.
Kimberly Engle
9:10 AM – The Power and Challenges of Acetates
Cryotech, Senior Chemist
Kimberly Engle is a senior chemist with General Atomics’ Cryotech Deicing Technology Division. With a diverse background in analytical chemistry, toxicology, specialty electronics materials, and consumer chemical products spanning three decades, she is currently the technical lead for Cryotech’s airport ramp and runway deicers, commercial pavement products, and industrial chemicals. She provides research and development for new product development as well as technical service and support.
She is active in many industry groups including the Society of Automotive Engineers G-12 Aircraft Ground Deicing Steering Committee and is a member of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Standing Committee on Winter Maintenance. She also serves on several research project development panels administered by the Airport Cooperative Research Program and recently coauthored the water resources section of the Critical Issues in Aviation and the Environment Circular published by TRB’s Environmental Impact of Aviation committee.
Lorna Murison
9:40 AM – Reducing Chloride Application to Parking Lots with Liquid Anti-icing
Credit Valley Conservation (ON), Real-time Water Quality Coordinator
Lorna Murison is the Coordinator of Real-Time Water Quality monitoring with the Credit Valley Conservation Authority in Mississauga, Ontario. Her work is focused on water quality monitoring and modeling with a special interest in road salt management. She also holds a Master of Applied Science in Environmental Science and Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, where her research was on the use of liquid anti-icing for the winter maintenance of parking lots.
10:30 AM – Centering Water to Become Winter Wise
Bryan Gruidl
City of Bloomington (MN), Water Resources Manager
Bryan Gruidl, Water Resources Manager for the City of Bloomington, brings a wealth of expertise and dedication to sustainable surface water management. With a passion for environmental stewardship, Bryan leads initiatives aimed at protecting and improving surface water resources. With a unique background in watershed science and engineering, Bryan has honed his skills in urban surface water management. He has played a pivotal role in implementing innovative solutions to address surface water challenges, fostering partnerships between the city, local organizations, and residents. In his role, Bryan continues to drive positive change, shaping Bloomington’s surface water landscape towards a more resilient and environmentally-conscious future.
Jack Distel is the Water Resources Specialist at the City of Bloomington and is a key steward of the municipality’s surface water management, responsible for upholding standards of both quality and quantity control. Tasked with ensuring the sustainable utilization of water resources, this role encompasses a breadth of responsibilities including monitoring water quality, implementing conservation measures, and developing strategies to mitigate pollution. Through rigorous analysis and collaboration with stakeholders, Jack plays a vital role in safeguarding Bloomington’s aquatic ecosystems and securing a resilient water future for the community.
11:00 AM – Pavement Monitoring Panel
Joseph Huneke
Minnesota Department of Transportation, Transportation Program Supervisor
Joe Huneke has worked with the Minnesota Department of Transportation for 35 years. He Started his career at the Zumbrota Truck Station as a Highway Maintenance worker, and Moved into a Statewide Maintenance Coordinator position in 2008. This position was to promote sensible salting solutions throughout MnDOT Maintenance. From there moved onto a position in 2011 as a MDSS/AVL implementation Coordinator for the Metro district along with the southern part of Minnesota. Duties were to coordinate all activities in AVL integration and promoting the use of MDSS. In 2014 Joe became a Transportation Program Team Leader in the Road Weather Technology section, where he lead the MDSS/AVL implementation effort statewide. In 2016 Joe became the Program Supervisor over the Road Weather Technology Section, and is responsible for the RWIS network, MDSS applications, including contract management, AVL program, including all integrations and operations, Salt Sustainability Program, and Pathfinder Program. Joe sits on the Aurora Pooled Fund board, Clear Roads Pooled fund, MDSS Pooled fund and is MnDOT’s representative on the FHWA Road Weather Management Program. Joe has been involved in the FHWA program that promoted Integrating Mobile Observations (IMO), and Pathfinder Program initiatives to many states as part of the Every Day Counts outreach.
Robert J. “Bob” Miller began his career in public works on October 1, 1972, when he was hired by the Algonquin Township Road District. He was initially hired as a snowplow driver and roadway worker, and began the administrative portion of his career in public works when he was elected as Highway Commissioner in March of 1993. He served as Highway Commissioner for 24 years.
During his time as Highway Commissioner, he served as President of the McHenry County Township Highway Commissioner’s Association; President of the Northern Illinois Township Highway Commissioner’s Association; and President of the Highway Commissioner’s of Illinois. He also was elected and served as President of the Township Officials of Illinois. In 2015, he received the American Public Works Association’s Road Manager of the Year – Public Sector’s National Award. Concurrently, Bob was a paid-on-call firefighter, paramedic, rescue diver, and officer of the Cary Fire Protection District. He retired from the district in 1996, having achieved the position of Assistant Chief. He is currently serving as Interim Public Works Director in the City of North Chicago, Illinois.
Tina Greenfield
Iowa Department of Transportation, Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) Coordinator
Tina Greenfield is the Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) Coordinator for the Iowa Department of Transportation. She oversees the installation and maintenance of the Iowa DOT’s RWIS weather stations, organizes winter maintenance research and field evaluations, and analyzes the Department’s salt use and winter operations performance and processes. Tina is the past chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Winter Maintenance Committee and represents her agency for the Aurora road weather pooled fund research consortium. She graduated from Iowa State University with a master’s degree in meteorology before joining the Iowa DOT in 2004.
Afternoon session brought to you by Cargill
1:00 PM – Heated Pavements Panel
Amy Hanson
City of Plymouth (MN), Fleet and Facilities Manager
Amy Hanson is the Fleet and Facilities Manager at the City of Plymouth. She has been leading facilities and operational teams for the past 20 years over several different market sectors, including profit and non-profit organizations. She has a strong focus on developing collaborative partnerships with both internal and external partners to improve the stakeholders’ experience. In her work, Ms. Hanson finds ways to use innovative technology while maintaining operational budgets and works to make smart improvements to facilities.
Jeff has been with PaveDrain, LLC for 4 years and has nearly 25 years of experience in construction sales and consultation. Although Jeff has been involved in a wide range of construction industries such as HVAC, Plumbing, Tools & Safety, he was motivated to come back to his roots with Stormwater Management when joining the PaveDrain team in the summer of 2020.
Jeff believes in a simple but effective approach to Stormwater Management, using common sense principles while utilizing disruptive technology that can sometimes challenge the status quo. He recently reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro whilst carrying an ACME anvil in his knapsack.
Jeff is the City of Holland’s Downtown Development Coordinator. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Urban Regional Planning from the University of Alabama. Jeff has been with the City of Holland since 2023. His responsibilities include being the public liaison for Holland’s almost 24 acres of snowmelt.
Mijia Yang, Ph.D., P.E.
2:00 PM – Reduce Salt Usage by Preventing Snow Drifting on Roads – A Solar Snow Fence Technology
North Dakota State University, Professor
Dr. Mijia Yang was a tenured associate professor at the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University. Dr. Yang received his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering in 2006. Before joining NDSU, he worked as an assistant professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Yang has practiced teaching, research, and service broadly in structural engineering. His research on salt-related projects includes solar snow fences to reduce snow and ice removal, self-heating pavement, and pervious concrete. He also studies impact and blast protection with advanced engineering materials, multi-scale modeling of composite and concrete materials, smart health monitoring in Civil Infrastructure, and self-healing concrete. His representative work included developing an innovative solar snow fence system, a systematic design method for impact barriers, a unified fatigue criterion for uniaxial Polyurethane E-Glass composite laminates, damage detection through guided wave, and a creep design methodology for Epoxy bonded anchor systems. Dr. Yang is currently serving as the associate editor of the Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE, and has more than 100 publications, including journal papers, conference papers, and reports in the field of composites, structural testing, and material characterization.
Kamal Hossain, Ph.D., P.E.
2:30 PM – Performance of an Alternative Deicer with Invasive Starfish Extract Additive
Carleton University (ON), Associate Professor
Dr. Kamal Hossain is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa. Dr. Hossain has over 15 years of experience in academia and industry in the areas of civil, transportation and construction engineering. His current research includes Highway Pavement Performance and Sustainability, Climate Change Impact Assessment on Transportation Infrastructure, Pavement Design, Civil Infrastructure Management, Highway Maintenance and Preservation, Infrastructure Resiliency, Cold Region Pavement Engineering and Highway De-icing and Anti-icing. Previously, Dr. Hossain served as an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and as a postdoctoral researcher in pavement and transportation engineering research groups at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in USA and University of Waterloo. He holds a PhD in Transportation Engineering from University of Waterloo. He has supervised over 20 Master’s/PhD thesis projects in transportation infrastructure engineering and management areas and authored/co-authored over 100 technical publications. Dr. Hossain and his research were featured by many media and industrial organizations including CBC, The Vancouver Sun, The Telegram and The Asphalt Institute. His papers also received best paper awards and recognitions from several organizations including American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, ASCE Cold Region Engineering Journal. Dr. Hossain is a member of the standing committees of US Transportation Research Board (TRB) on pavement maintenance and binder for flexible pavements.
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Special & Promotional Sponsors
