This week's snowstorm that dumped over two feet of snow to portions of the Northeast created headaches for local government and snow removal personnel on where to put all that snow. But if they thought the snow removal was difficult, the situation might get worse if they don't manage their snow-pack properly before it begins to melt, according to an expert in snow-pack management from Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.
Dr. Robert East, Jr., is director of environmental studies and assistant professor of biology at Washington & Jefferson. He's done previous work in snow-pack management in the mountainous areas of New Mexico, California, and specifically the Pacific Northwest. He believes officials should be trying to manage their excess snow on two fronts -- making the run-off environmentally free from dangerous sediments, and controlling the amount of melt.
"One of things you want to be aware of in the beginning (of snow removal), is the soil and ground cover this snow is going to dislodge when it melts and runs off into waterways. For that reason, you want to have filtration fences ready around this snow," says East. "There are fences are made of a particular mesh cloth that's a half-a-meter high at its highest point. They will keep the soil from going with the run-off during the melt. They're used by the Department of Transportation, and should be by anybody concerned with keeping sediments out of waterways.
"People should be aware that if this snow is piled on very little ground cover, the chance for silt to be carried with the run-off and massive soil movement is much greater. So people who are handling the snow removal should be trying to keep silt out of waterways, and stabilizing hillsides."
East also reports that handlers of the snow-pack can also control the melt, so it is released when needed, and not all at once.
"For some of the lower mountain areas where the temperature does not warm up so much like it will here, you can cover the snow-pack with a man-made material -- keeping it in tact, and gradually releasing it in the spring when it's needed," he says. "I know in mountainous areas, they sometimes construct a little shed or house over the snow-pack to minimize its melt, and allow it to gradually melt over a longer period of time. Banking the snow gradually allows it to melt, as opposed to allowing it to run-off all at once -- risking flooding. Covering that snow and gradually allowing the snow to thaw and melt will recharge the groundwater. That's the way to do it. Maybe it can then be released next month, or the following month -- releasing it when as it's needed in the streams and groundwater."
According to East, these techniques shouldn't be foreign to officials who are handling snow removal in the Northeast. There are published techniques on snow-banking, primarily by experts who deal with this in mountainous areas of the Pacific Northwest.
"If there's all this run-off, and there's no filtration, it creates a hairy situation. Using snow banking is a way to assist in vegetation diversion," he says.
RSS