dumping snow in the bay?

bowman316

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
1,822
I heard that baltimore city was dumping snow into the bay, just to get rid of it.
Then just now, i read on accuweather.com that it is illegal to dump snow in lakes and rivers. But i think that is only for fresh water rivers.
The bay is brackish water.
You think dump truck loads of snow hurts the Chesapeake bay at all?
I'm just glad the bay was not frozen.

They say the salt in the snow hurts the fresh water in the rivers.
But in this kind of snow, you kinda have to do what you have to do.
 

marlboro180

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
1,164
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

Dunno if it against any law, but I used to do it where I worked a while back- dumping snow into a river . Always felt kinda bad doing it, salt, oil residue, trash, bits of things, etc. all going in along with the snow. See it plenty now too.

The same that river I live on now is generally thinner where the drainage culverts come into it carrying water from surrounding areas and roads. Always salt laden and do not see how it cannot be some sort of detriment to the ecosystem.
 

npd4432

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 18, 2006
Messages
468
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

Back in 1996 when we had a good amount of snow here in NEPA the local authorities had to authorize the dumping of the snow into the river. The bridge was shut down and the triaxles were letting it loose until the snow just about came up to the base of the bridge. The river they were dumping into was the Susquehanna River which does empty into the Chesapeake. As for the pollution of the snow into the river..........well I would rather drink gasoline then step foot into that river around here due to the mine water runoff and raw sewage.
 

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,392
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

Please take it all to Vancouver. They are buying the stuff for the olympics.
 

bowman316

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
1,822
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

send 1,000 trucks down here, and we will load em up for free
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
71,194
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

Then just now, i read on accuweather.com that it is illegal to dump snow in lakes and rivers. But i think that is only for fresh water rivers.

Ayuh,... Never heard of That...

Around here, Every town, village,+ city has a Snow Dump along a river...

For those of you who've never tried it,.. It's a real anus clincher the 1st time ya do it...
For the most part, Snow loves to Stick to cold steel, hence it Won't just slide outa the dumpbox...
So, standard operating procedure is to back in to the ramp, raise the box, then roll ahead 2 or 3 feet, slip it into reverse,+ Hammer it...
There's a big steel bumpbar anchored to the edge of the riverbank, sticking up about 2'/3', that you Slam the pintlehitch/ back of the truck into,...
Hopefully dislodging the load of snow into the river...

The city snow dump here in Watertown is about 40' above the river, on top of a limestone Cliff...
 

gonefishie

Commander
Joined
Jul 28, 2004
Messages
2,624
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

Geezz..:eek: I will never be a snow dumping driver in Watertown, NY.

I saw on the news there is a snow melting machine they called the snowdragon. Basically, it's an open top semi truck trailer that is heated. Front loader would dump the snow in it and it melts the snow, water goes down the drain.

snowdragon
 
Last edited:

Tacklewasher

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
1,588
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

Please take it all to Vancouver. They are buying the stuff for the olympics.


Ya beat me to it.

They are having to helicopter in snow to one of the hills.

The main downhill stuff at Whistler will be fine, but some of the jumps are going to be done on snow covered straw.
 

HappierWet

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
839
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

I heard that baltimore city was dumping snow into the bay, just to get rid of it.
Then just now, i read on accuweather.com that it is illegal to dump snow in lakes and rivers. But i think that is only for fresh water rivers.
The bay is brackish water.
You think dump truck loads of snow hurts the Chesapeake bay at all?
I'm just glad the bay was not frozen.

They say the salt in the snow hurts the fresh water in the rivers.
But in this kind of snow, you kinda have to do what you have to do.

Isn't that where it ends up anyway?

When you think about the storm drain system...it leads to the nearest body of water ( whether it's a lake, pond, resevoir, or river ) , my opinion is that the water (or snow ) would only get dirtier the longer it is in contact with the ground. Yes, the loaders are going to pick up the detritus, but how much would have gotten swept away with the snowmelt anyway?:eek:
Something else to think about when you see some ignoramus littering!:mad:

I don't think just what Baltimore did would hurt the Bay. When you look at the CUMULATIVE effect of all the towns on all the rivers......Yes, I think that would have an effect:(
 

bowman316

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
1,822
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

does salt runnoff from the roads hurt the bay, like the farmers runnoff does?
 

JRJ

Commander
Joined
Sep 11, 2001
Messages
2,992
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

A long time ago, I loaded semi-end dumps with a Snow-Go. Lots of fun till you find a buried car the hard way :(
 

LadyFish

Admiral
Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
6,894
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

About 2 weeks ago there was an ice jam on West Canada Creek in Upstate New York. It tore through a town threatening properties along its banks and tearing up a couple of bridges.

Years ago, they never had this problem. They dynomited the ice throughout the winter upstream so this wouldn't happen. Apparently, they stopped doing this because the dynomite kills fish, etc.
 

bowman316

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
1,822
Re: dumping snow in the bay?

the paper said the city of Havre De Grace had no where to dump the snow they took off the streets. But they are right on the bay. just dump it on the boat ramp!
Right next to the boat ramp is a parking lot, that ends right at the waterfront.
 
Top