Snow that is removed from roads is considered a toxic substance and can’t just be dumped anywhere. City Transportation Manager Robert Carroll says that is why they have a designated snow dump for the city. He adds that it is engineered in a way that helps avoid harm to the environment.
“It has an impervious layer that we dump the snow onto. When the snow does melt, it is collected into a containment pond. It settles there and then it eventually makes its way into our drainage channels. Every once in a while we have to go and excavate out the sediment that is left behind.”
He adds that every year they do end up with about two dozen loads worth of things collected with the snow like cigarette butts and hypodermic needles.
The public has not been able to use the facility for their own snow for about 10 years and the city plans to keep it that way. Carroll says if they had residents dumping their snow too, they would fill up quickly.
“We have one snow dump in the city and it is sufficient. Some of the hauls are a little long but we are managing.”
The Transportation Manager says snow clearing companies will set up their own temporary snow dump but if residents are planning on removing snow from their own property, they need to find a piece of land to use. He adds that it is also important to move location of it regularly to avoid harming the environment.