Q&A
Use of snow melters and management of melted snow
0:28:09
ยท
98 sec
Acting Commissioner Lojan and other DSNY officials explain the department's use of snow melters, including when they are deployed and how the melted snow is managed.
- Snow is piled up and then melted using snow melter machines
- The melted snow (water) is discharged into DEP-approved sewers
- The water is not harvested for city use (to DSNY's knowledge)
- Snow melting operations are typically initiated for snowfalls of 6 to 12 inches, depending on temperature conditions
- DSNY has not reached capacity with their snow melters in recent memory
- Snow melter capacities:
- Smaller units melt 60 tons of snow per hour
- Larger units melt 120 tons of snow per hour
- The decision to use snow melters depends on factors like snowfall amount and subsequent temperatures
- DSNY officials believe their current snow melter capacity is sufficient to handle even very large storms
Shaun Abreu
0:28:09
DSNY's borrow based snow plans reference that when snow reaches a certain depth, it is piled then taken to DEP approved snow melters or DCNY's DSNY's prestaged melters.
0:28:21
What happens to the melted snow that results from the melter machines?
Javier Lojan
0:28:25
So we take them to these areas, pile them up, and then, the snow melters do their job.
0:28:30
They they melt the snow into water, and then they get discharged into a DDP approved sewer.
Shaun Abreu
0:28:37
Is the water, ever harvested for city use?
Javier Lojan
0:28:40
Not to my knowledge.
0:28:41
But, you know, maybe DEP might have a better sense of that.
Shaun Abreu
0:28:44
How many inches of snow would trigger the snow melters to reach capacity?
Javier Lojan
0:28:50
Do you know?
0:28:50
You to for the snow melters to reach capacity?
Shaun Abreu
0:28:53
Yeah.
0:28:53
Like, citywide, if, you know, what what is it once is it a 1 inch or 2 inches or 3 inches?
Javier Lojan
0:28:58
For us to initiate, like, a snow melting operation?
Shaun Abreu
0:29:01
Or or at what point would it reach capacity as well?
Javier Lojan
0:29:04
So I don't I don't know I don't I don't know that we've reached capacity on our snow melters.
0:29:08
I think for us to initiate snow melting operations, it it it depends on how I would say 6 to 12 inches but it depends on the temps afterward.
0:29:18
Right?
0:29:19
If we get temps like this that it's freezing, snow is not going anywhere, we might initiate that maybe in a 6 inch storm.
0:29:25
But, again, if it's mild, the snow generally melts a lot quicker, and we wouldn't have to deploy that operation.
Shaun Abreu
0:29:31
And just on the
Joshua Goodman
0:29:32
capacity, the smaller ones melt 60 tons an hour, and the larger ones melt a 120 tons an hour.
0:29:39
So the idea of reaching capas like, they're I don't think we could ever get if there's a storm that maxes out the ability to use these things, we have much bigger problems.
0:29:47
Okay.