Paul Levy, the first director of the MWRA, writes it's pretty silly to let Boston dump snow into a snow farm right on the water but not let it just push the snow into the harbor - when it's going to melt into the water anyway.
Forcing the city to create snow mountains only means wasting time that could be better spent getting rid of snow from increasingly clogged streets, he says.
Several years ago, I suggested that during major snow accumulations, the state DEP should grant the City of Boston a waiver to dump the snow into the Harbor.
Why does it matter? It matters for no other reason that it takes longer to clean the streets when you have to go through this routine of hauling and pushing, hauling and pushing. It won't solve all the problems, but it will help.
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Comments
Melters are great
By Waquiot
Sun, 02/08/2015 - 8:54pm
They filter out the crap that gets picked up with the snow and everything. The debate here is whether the liquid crap gets treated via the storm drains any better than if the snow went directly into the harbor. My gut is that the EPA thinks the storm drains do a better job.
But of course the melters are hella expensive. I say there's gotta be a cheaper way.
Maybe cities and towns here in the Commonwealth might be
By mplo
Tue, 02/10/2015 - 10:57am
better off digging deeper into their budgets and investing in some equipment such as snow melters, then. If desperate times call for desperate measures, this is one good example of that.
But
By Waquiot
Tue, 02/10/2015 - 6:37pm
Would taxpayers want to fork out the money in case we have flukes like this again? Maybe, but they don't want to invest in the T, which is used all year long.
Mayor Walsh says Boston may dump snow into harbor
By Ron Newman
Mon, 02/09/2015 - 4:20pm
Story here
Other places to dump snow?
By Sno' Doubt
Mon, 02/09/2015 - 6:34pm
I've walked past a number of urban sites surrounded by 3', 4' or sometimes taller chain link fence that are not being used for local snow dumping. One example: a firehouse with a large adjacent grassy lot (part of the firehouse property). Three feet of smooth, pristine snow. One bulldozer can knock down a piece of fence and pile up snow from the entire surrounding neighborhood. Cost to replace the fence and, maybe, resod the lot in April or May? Cheap and fast compared to what we're going through now.
Running heavy equipment over long distances, adding to traffic and pollution is time wasting, polluting, and costly. Fence repair is a bargain.
Consider also: local parks, idle construction sites with large areas not yet under development. Just bulldoze the fences and start dumping.
What about grassy areas or wooded areas (usually there for noise abatement) adjacent to the highways? Make snow mountains every mile or two along the highways.
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