ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Rock salt is a trusted winter solution for de-icing roads, but it comes with challenges like environmental impact and corrosion. Innovations are beginning to offer eco-friendly formulas and improved performance in extreme cold, making it more sustainable and effective. This time of year, rock salt is everywhere — on the roads, sidewalks, and driveways. However, we've come to realize that rock salt is harmful not only to the environment but also to human health. Alexander Smith, assistant division director for the Division of Water at the DEC, acknowledges this growing concern and shares that changes are being made thanks to new funding.  “The Water Quality Improvement Project program, which we call 'WQIP' for short, is a pretty significant environmental improvement water quality improvement funding program that DEC offers," Smith explained. "And this year, we partnered with DOT to expand that, to be able to offer additional funding, and like I said, $15 million in funding, specifically for road salt reduction practices.”  One concern with rock salt is that once it’s applied to roadways, it tends to bounce and scatter, reducing its effectiveness. However, a promising alternative is gaining traction and being used more frequently. "If you use brine, which is basically a solution, and apply that on the surface, it stays in place a little bit better and then gets activated by the precipitation," Smith said. "Essentially, what it ends up doing is preventing that initial snow/ice roadway bond that then allows the plows to be even more effective.” Smith acknowledges that there is still a great deal of work to be done. One key ongoing effort, even with the implementation of the new program, will be the annual collection of data. “As we identify new contaminants that we need to pay attention to, we incorporate the measurement, the monitoring of those contaminants into those long standing monitoring program and then that data and information that we collect on an annual basis across the state, gives us information, gives us data on the concentration and the location of where a contamination happens to exist," Smith said.