Storm water containing high levels of chloride was collected from the Solvay wastebeds to irrigate willow varieties Salix miyabeana (SX64), S. purpurea (9882-34), and S. sachalinensis x S. miyabeana (9870-40) that were grown in organically-amended Solvay waste. During a greenhouse study five storm water treatments containing 163, 325, 813, 1625 and 8125 mg Cl L 1 and a tap water control were applied. All willows used in this experiment resulted in the accumulation of 62%-95% of Na+ and Cl in the plant/soil system, but less than 0.5% of this was being stored in plant tissues. The results also indicated that electrical conductivity measurements above 6 mS cm(-1) may be a good stress predictor. For all varieties most Na+ was allocated to the roots and most Cl- to the leaves. The balanced Na+/K+ and Na+/Ca2+ ratios in the shoots of all shrub willow varieties indicated that they were able to tolerate storm water treatments with 1625 mg Cl L-1 and 405 mg Na+ L-1 for up to 10 weeks. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.