How much is too much? I feel that someone needs to check into how much is acceptable in an area with all wells for our drinking water.”

Little Compton resident and state salt truck driver Robert Cavanaugh Jr., in a letter to the Little Compton Town Clerk

Less than a foot of snow has fallen so far this winter, but the amount of salt that has accumulated on Little Compton’s state roads has prompted town council members to reach out to the town’s legislative delegation, and to draft a letter to the state DEM, to get answers.

Residents have been complaining about the large volume of sand left behind by state crews since last month. Two weeks after a fast-moving mid-January storm left two inches of snow on the ground, “the snow is long gone (but) the roads are still white with remaining piles (of salt) and there is a white dust that blows every time a car passes,” Daune Peckham and George Purmont wrote in a letter to the town clerk.

“It’s unhealthy for us all,” they wrote, adding that the salt will cause environmental problems, notably to wetlands and private wells, when rains wash it away.

“Whether it’s the salt dust storms on our roads in the mornings or many small mounds of salt left behind, there is simply too much salt being discarded into our drinking water aquifers,” Taylors Lane resident Jack Robinson added in another letter to the town clerk.

Town council members said Thursday evening that they’ve reached out to Rep. Michelle McGaw and Sen. Louis DiPalma, and will draft a letter to be sent to DEM by town solicitor Anthony DeSisto.

There is no word yet from the state on whether RIDOT has a new policy for salting roads prior to and during inclement weather. But Little Compton resident Robert Cavanaugh wrote that the state’s policy seems to be different this year:

Cavanaugh, who has worked for the state for about 35 years, was behind the wheel of a state salt truck during a storm on Jan. 19-20, and wrote that he spread 15 tons between Meeting House Lane and Sakonnet Harbor.

“Even when it was raining they had us put out salt. Prior to the storm the state trucks coated all of the roads with a super concentrated brine. This is new. We have never brined the roads over here in the 35 years that I have been involved in winter operations. They kept urging us to put out more and more.”

Though Cavanaugh wrote that he wants to continue working with the state, “how much is too much? I feel that someone needs to check into how much is acceptable in an area with all wells for our drinking water.”

On Friday, Rep. McGaw said she was waiting for more information on the issue from Little Compton council members, and said she plans to reach out to RIDOT officials to inquire about the state’s salting policies.