Traffic can pose a serious pollutant threat to groundwater and surface water in its vicinity. In Sweden, about 300,000 tons of sodium chloride are used annually by the Swedish National Road Administration in deicing and snow removal operations. Similarly, local municipalities and private property owners also use road salt. In Sweden as well as in other countries where the use of deicing chemicals is common in winter, deicing's impact on groundwater has been observed in small private wells as well as in larger municipal supplies. For lakes in Sweden, deicing's impact has been observed as stratification and high chloride concentrations during spring. The extent of deicing's impact can be investigated under a set of specific criteria as well as a method to estimate the long-term effects of deicing salt. The calculated steady-state chloride concentration can be used to identify risk-prone areas for groundwater and surface water before damage has occurred. The resulting prediction can then be used in deciding what areas to protect and what measures to adopt. The DPSIR (Driving force, Pressure, State, Impact, Response) method can be a useful tool in describing how a winter road maintenance system works today; however, to more comprehensively prevent damage to the environment, a more active approach is necessary.