HENRIETTA, N.Y. – The salt shortage is hitting towns across our area, with some considering rationing their supply which could mean less salt on the roads. News10NBC has been investigating this issue and found the shortage is impacting many communities.

Want to see what a salt shortage looks like? Take a look at the salt barn in Henrietta. The only salt Henrietta has is piled at the back of the barn.

“So normally it’s full up to about here,” Steve Schultz, Henrietta Town Supervisor, demonstrating two thirds of the barn is usually still full.

Schultz says they’re at the point of having to look at rationing the salt that goes down.

“On warmer days like today, that’s not a big deal,” Schultz said. “If it gets really cold tonight that could create some issues.”

The Town of Victor posted on its webpage that their salt supply is “at an extreme low,” it takes “two weeks” to get a delivery, and all towns in Ontario County are “facing similar shortages.”

Thursday night, Town Supervisor Jack Marren wrote to News10NBC in an email:

“Today Victor received one load of salt from American Rock Salt and three loads from Apalachee Salt. Tomorrow we are scheduled for the balance of the salt purchased from our emergency vendor Apalachee Salt; total was 600 tons. Next week we have been notified that we should see some additional salt deliveries from American.”

However, the Pittsford Town Supervisor Bill Smith posted on Facebook that Pittsford has “plenty of salt” and that they “plan ahead.”

The state transportation commissioner was asked about salt at her budget hearing and referenced American Rock Salt in Mount Morris.

“I can tell you they’re open and available,” said Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez of the NYS DOT.

Berkeley Brean: “Are you concerned about what you look at right here?”

Steve Schultz: “I am because in the normal year we would have a much greater capacity of salt. If we keep having these very cold spells, we’ll be through this in no time.”

Berkeley Brean: “What we’re looking at now includes an emergency delivery you got today?”

Steve Schultz: “That’s correct. About half of that arrived this morning.”

Henrietta made an order for a thousand tons of salt a week and a half ago. What they get are two hundred tons every day.

American Rock Salt in Mount Morris, the main supplier of rock salt, admitted there are supply challenges on Monday. The mine says it has worked three shifts since November and produced more salt this year than it did all of last year.

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