SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Even though this round of snow isn’t going to be as intense as some previous storms Sioux City’s seen this winter, the City of Sioux City Street Division still has a lot to prepare.

Siouxlanders have probably seen city or Iowa DOT trucks driving on streets around Siouxland before and after it snows, and those trucks are spreading substances to prevent or melt ice to keep traffic conditions safe.

While out on highways and interstates, the Iowa DOT prefers to use a substance they call Brine, a mixture of water and salt that keeps the roads from becoming slick. However, the city primarily uses a salt-sand mixture to cover the city’s roads.

Myron Kellen, a highway tech associate with the Iowa DOT, said both brine and salt-sand mixtures are equally effective, but each department considers different benefits when deciding which deicer to use.

“We have to make sure that those roads are clear, I mean they gotta get dry right away. You know, salts gonna dry that up right away and we clear that off. The wind out there will dry it a lot better, you know in town you’re not getting a lot of that wind to dry up the roads. So, you know for traction wise, different things like that, they’re probably using that sand mixture,” said Kellen.

Regardless of the mixture in use, both the City and the Iowa DOT prefer to be over prepared ahead of a coming snow event.

“In preparation for a snow event we always air on the side of caution, so we will use the extreme forcasted snow event or snow forecast for what we’re planning for,” said Patrick Simons, Sioux City field service supervisor.

Simons says on average the city uses roughly 300 to 500lbs of the salt sand mixture on the roads per snow event.