Search for salt: Shortages amid relentless winter

EASTLAKE, Ohio (WJW) -- The two salt domes that serve the city of Eastlake were full and ready to go before Thanksgiving.

But a succession of snow, freezing rain, snow, ice and just cold can empty things out pretty quick.

And right now, it's hard to get a refill.

"We just put in a request for 500 tons, and they called back and said we'll give you 175," said Eastlake Mayor Jim Overstreet.

He said this has been one of the busiest winters on the road for their service department in the past few years.

He says their plow crews have put in a lot overtime to keep the streets clear this winter and that meant using a lot of salt.

In fact, salt is a hot commodity right now, as cities all over Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and anywhere that has had snow all search for the same thing.

The parade of big interstate salt haulers running through the west bank of The Flats from the big salt mine has been non-stop.

Overstreet said they're not the only ones looking for a truck load or two to refill their supplies.

"An email that went out from a company asking how our salt conditions were, and some are answering that they're OK, but some of them say, yeah we're short. Timberlake gets their salt from us and I had to ask their mayor to cut back a little bit," Overstreet said.

The plan for now on is that Eastlake is going to concentrate on keeping the main intersections with stop signs and red lights clear.

Though residential streets are going to get plowed, they won't get salted. 

Homeowners are facing the same frustrations, as bagged rock salt is also in short supply.

Overstreet said they will continue to look for more salt.

Even if there is more snow, he said that folks in Eastlake can expect the service department to be out on the roads, clearing them out the best they can.

"Yeah we have to do it. We'll do the best we can with what we have," Overstreet said.