Last week, Washoe County crews seemed determined to coat every road surface in sight with slurry in preparation for winter weather. Meanwhile, a number of City of Reno residents reached out with the same question: where was the slurry? Because many of us didn’t see any.

To be fair, the City of Reno isn’t exactly doing nothing. The city has largely shifted away from traditional slurry-style pre-treatment and now relies primarily on brining — a saltwater solution applied ahead of storms to keep snow and ice from bonding to the pavement. Sand and salt mixes are then used as secondary measures, especially on hills, curves, intersections, and known trouble spots.