In the Northeastern United States, surface waters have become increasingly saline over the past several decades as a consequence of application of road de-icing chemicals, chiefly NaCl. In laboratory and field studies NaCl has been shown to increase the mobility of metals associated with organic matter and soil colloids through ion exchange and chloride complexation. The Patroon Creek watershed (37 km²) is highly urbanized with 35% impervious surface including two interstate highways, secondary roads, and parking lots. Approximately 4.2 million kg NaCl were applied in 2003-2004. We collected surface water samples by the grab method at eight sites monthly over a 2-year period, as well as by automatic sampler during peak discharge events. Bulk samples and filtered-filtrate pairs were analyzed for major and trace elements by IC and ICP-MS. Strong correlations exist among total concentrations of Al, Fe, Co, Zn, Cd, Pb, discharge, and suspended particulate mass, indicating that these elements are transported predominantly on the particulate or colloidal phase during peak discharge events. In contrast, there are no significant correlations between Cl and dissolved trace metal concentrations or between Cl and trace metal solid-aqueous partition coefficients. These results suggest that the processes that control trace metal solubility and transport at the watershed scale are complex and cannot be explained solely by ion exchange and aqueous complex formation.