The Willowick Service Department recently received a new ice control spray unit through an H2Ohio Rivers Initiative Chloride Reduction Grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Related Articles Local News | NEO Elite 10-and-under flag football team headed to national tournament Local News | Mentor Public Library hosts program on Christmas songs Local News | Mentor Public Library hosts talk on past Cleveland’s department stores Local News | Mentor Public Library has Who-ville themed escape room for families Local News | Painesville Township sets date for final curbside leaf collection The unit, made possible by the $11,275 grant, will be mounted into the back of one of the service department’s pickup trucks and will allow the department to pre-treat the city’s main roads, as well as school routes, with an anti-icing agent prior to a snowstorm, according to Mayor Michael Vanni. “We currently have two of these in our inventory, and this one will replace an older unit that has reached the end of its life cycle,” he said. “This anti-icing agent helps to keep the snow from forming a hard pack that takes longer to melt away and clean up.” Using this system will result in less salt usage on the city’s roads, thus saving the city both money in the salt cost and less salt runoff going into the waterways, Vanni said. “I would like to thank the Ohio EPA, as well as our Service Director Todd Shannon for all his efforts in applying and working with the Ohio EPA in securing this grant for the city,” he said. According to H2Ohio, the Chloride Reduction Grant Program was announced in December of 2023. When it launched, the state proposed to award approximately $1 million in funding. However, more funding was awarded as a result of the high demand. Among the items that qualified for funding were live-edge blades, salt spreader control systems, brine mixers and structural upgrades to salt storage facilities to prevent ground water contamination, according to H2Ohio.