Cash-Strapped Bergen, N.J. To Fight Snow With ‘Pickle Juice’

Bergen County’s 230 plows and salting vehicles are at the ready for Wednesday’s snowfall, especially with their newest weapon for melting snow quickly — a briny mixture of salt and water that resembles pickle juice.
“We actually pre-spray the properties, the sidewalks, the parking lots as a preventative before the snow is uncontrollable,” Bergen County Public Works Director Joe Crifasi told CBS 2′s Magee Hickey.
The brine costs just 7 cents a gallon compared to $63 a ton for salt. Bergen County has already used up $3 million of its $4 million snow budget.
“We’re still not in the red. We’re in the black, but if we get a winter that continues like this, it’ll be very tough,” Bergen County Executive Director Kathe Donovan said.

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