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Snow and Ice Management S-10
Description
For obvious safety reasons, snow
removal in Colorado is important;
however, snow removal and
management practices can adversely
impact vegetation, soils, water quality,
and air quality. Snow removal
contractors and operators should be
knowledgeable of these potential
impacts and choose management
measures with the fewest adverse
impacts, while still protecting the public
safety, health and welfare.
Appropriate Uses
Snow and ice management procedures
are relevant for homeowners, contractors,
business owners, and transportation departments.
Practice Guidelines 1
Photograph SIM-1. Snow storage locations should be clearly
communicated to snow removal contractors and located where they can
drain to stormwater BMPs or landscaped areas. Photo courtesy of
WWE.
• Physical removal of snow and ice by shovels, snowplows, or snow blowers usually has the least water
quality and landscape impacts, provided that storage areas are not piled directly on landscape plants
or drained directly to receiving waters. Plan for snow storage locations that minimize water quality
and landscape impacts prior to winter.
• Ensure that equipment is calibrated to optimum levels according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Consider placing barriers in targeted site-specific locations (i.e., along streams or direct drainages) to
route deicing material away from waterbodies.
• Reduce plowing speed in sensitive areas to prevent exposure to deicing material.
• Designate snow storage areas in locations that enable runoff to be directed to stormwater BMPs for
treatment, when practicable.
• The use of deicing chemicals can have a severe impact on plants growing near roads and sidewalks.
This can become a water quality issue when plants die and erosion results. Many deicing chemicals
are salts and can adversely affect plants through either direct contact with foliage or through buildup
in the soil over time. Representative impacts include:
1 These practice guidelines have been adapted from the GreenCO Best Management Practices for the
Conservation and Protection of Water Quality in Colorado: Moving Toward Sustainability (GreenCO
and WWE 2008). See this manual for additional detail and references.
November 2010 Urban Drainage and Flood Control District SIM-1
Urban Storm Drainage Criteria Manual Volume 3