Urban snow dump quality and pollutant reduction in snowmelt by sedimentation

Abstract

Four snow dump sites in the Ottawa-Carleton region were analyzed for BOD, total and fecal coliforms, chlorides, sulfates, specific conductance, suspended solids, metals, and other parameters. Sites were sampled at various depths during the months of February through May. There was no trend in variation of quality in the dump piles with time. The black crust that formed on the top of the pile was heavily laden with solids and metals.Snowmelt samples were also taken over the same time period and analyzed for the above parameters. The process of snowmelt reduced the concentrations of most metals and suspended solids from the dump by 50–70%. Dissolved constituents in snowmelt are discharged at very high levels during the initial stages of snowmelt and rapidly decrease to low concentrations. Suspended solids and associated metals in snowmelt exhibited variability with snowmelt conditions and the state of the dump pile. The concentrations of a number of metals in settled snowmelt exceeded provincial objectives for surface waters.An analysis of settled snow dump and snowmelt samples for suspended solids and metals was conducted for settling periods of 1, 6, 12, and 24 h. A settling time from 2 to 6 h would achieve most of the removal that could be expected from sedimentation. The overall removal of suspended solids and the metals in settled snowmelt would generally be better than 90%. There were no significant trends in removal behavior as the snowmelt season progressed. The removal of metals lagged slightly behind the removal of suspended solids after settling because of the stronger association of metals with smaller sediment particles. The residue at the dump site is highly contaminated. Key words: snowmelt, runoff, stormwater, sedimentation, road deicing, snow dump, pollution.