Lake Forest and Lake Bluff road crews and private snow-removal contractors can now sign up for a series of Lake County workshops on reducing chloride runoff into local waterways while meeting state stormwater permit requirements before winter.
The county's Winter Best Practices program kicks off with an in-person workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at the Central Permit Facility, 500 W. Winchester Road, Suite 201, Libertyville. The half-day session runs from 8 a.m. to noon, with a hot breakfast served at 7:30 a.m. Registration costs $40 per person.
Both municipalities hold Illinois EPA MS4 stormwater permits, which require annual training for all employees and contractors who handle deicing materials on roadways. Attendance at the workshops satisfies that requirement. The current MS4 general permit, reissued July 8, 2025, runs through July 31, 2030.
Four events, three of them free
Beyond the paid workshop, Lake County is offering three free events in Libertyville this fall:
- Anti-Icing Liquids Panel, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 12:30–2:30 p.m. at the Lake County Division of Transportation. Local professionals will discuss liquid anti-icing methods, followed by a tour of LCDOT's brine operations.
- Winter Chloride Watchers Training, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6–8 p.m. at the LCDOT building, 600 W. Winchester Road. Co-hosted with The Conservation Foundation, the session trains volunteers to collect monthly water samples at a local waterway from November through May and report results through the Water Rangers app.
- Vehicle Calibration Event, Thursday, Nov. 5, at LCDOT near the salt dome. One-hour timeslots are available; Lake County entities get priority. Force America and LCDOT staff will calibrate winter maintenance vehicles on-site. In 2024, the county's first calibration event handled 10 trucks.
The program is co-organized by the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, chaired by Donny Schmit, alongside the Division of Transportation and Health Department. The Salt Smart Collaborative, a regional clearinghouse for chloride-reduction resources, partners on the workshop curriculum.
Virtual options and discounts
Crews that cannot travel to Libertyville can attend a virtual Public Roads webinar for $90. The link is shareable within an organization, so one registration covers multiple staff. Members of the sponsoring workgroups can use the code CHLORIDE for $10 off either format. Public Roads virtual dates run through Nov. 12, with a separate Parking Lots & Sidewalks track running from Oct. 20 through Nov. 17.
Why it matters locally
Lake County maintains major corridors through both communities, including Sheridan Road and Green Bay Road. Private contractors who plow and salt commercial lots, school campuses, hospital parking areas and shopping centers in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff are also covered by the permit's training mandate. The county notes that even distributing workshop registration information to those contacts counts toward a municipality's education and outreach requirements.
No registration deadline has been published, but the county's event page notes that workshops fill fast. Registration opened in August.
