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Water Conservation and Dust Control Are the Same Season in BC
BC has over 719,000 km of roads, 92% of them unpaved. Every summer, the crews responsible for maintaining them face the same challenge: controlling dust at precisely the time water conservation becomes most critical. On southeastern Vancouver Island, drought conditions can reach Level 3 or higher by mid-summer. In other parts of southern BC, such as the Okanagan, conditions can reach Level 4 or 5, where water scarcity risk is highest.
Watering Roads Uses More Water and Diesel Than It Seems
The conventional approach to dust control is repeated watering, sometimes three or four times a day using a large, diesel-powered water truck. While effective in the short term, this method consumes significant volumes of water and diesel fuel. During a 2025 pilot with a Vancouver Island First Nations partner, Ergo Eco Solutions found that watering just twice per day over a 100-day dry season would require more than one million litres of water and generate nearly two tonnes of COโe emissions for every kilometre of road treated.
Chloride Suppressants Carry Their Own Environmental Costs
Calcium and magnesium chloride are another common way to reduce dust and watering frequency, but these chloride salts can corrode equipment, persist in the environment, and have been identified by Environment and Climate Change Canada as posing risks to freshwater ecosystems. In BC, where many unpaved roads drain toward sensitive waterways, reducing both water use and persistent contaminants needs to be part of the conversation.
A Bio-Based Alternative Built for BC Roads
To address both challenges, Ergo developed Oil-ternativeยฎ Dust & Road Stabilizer, a bio-based alternative made locally from recycled food-grade vegetable oils. Rather than repeatedly wetting the surface, it penetrates and coats road materials, binding fine particles into a more stable surface that resists dust generation. Its long-lasting formula typically requires only three or four applications per season using standard spray equipment.
Pilot Results Show Real Water and Cost Savings
In the 2025 pilot on a 750-metre active road section, Oil-ternativeยฎ delivered 22% better dust suppression than water-only treatment, with effectiveness lasting well beyond the daily watering cycle. Modelled across a 2 km road section, the results demonstrated:
- Up to 99.5% less water use
- Up to 98.5% lower COโe emissions
- Up to 65% lower operating costs
A second trial at an active construction site near Victoria also demonstrated strong performance under heavy-equipment traffic.
Every Road Needs a Site-Specific Plan
Every road is different, and Ergo’s team assesses each project before recommending a site-specific treatment program.
Solving Dust Without Creating New Problems
As BC faces another dry summer, there is now a better way to solve the dust problem without creating a water problem, or a chloride salt problem. By reducing water use, truck traffic, and road maintenance, effective dust control can lower operating costs while helping protect BC’s water resources and supporting broader environmental goals.