City of Kitchener to spend $3M on snow storage facility on Battler Road

The City of Kitchener has decided to spend an extra $640,000 on its new snow storage and disposal facility on Battler Road to ensure it's up and running by the time the snow flies this winter. 

It brings the total cost of the project to $3,040,000.

• Kitchener city snow will head to Battler Road location to melt
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The decision wasn't made lightly. Tensions flared between councillors over a motion to defer the decision for another three weeks. 

"I think one of the reasons we're struggling with this, is to be frank – from a political standpoint – it sounds ridiculous that the City of Kitchener is paying $3 million to melt snow," Coun. Scott Davey said. 

"I'm sure there are a number of residents that are wondering why we can't go dump it in the Grand River, for example. The reality is we'll poison our river," he added. 

"It's something that we have to do, not only to service the residents of Kitchener, but to make sure that we keep our environment clean."

The city is required under provincial law to have a snow disposal site. The location must prevent runoff and silt from snow cleared from roadways that may have been treated with salt from entering waterways.

Previously, the city had leased a building at 75 Ardent Pl., but as of 2016, that is no longer an option; and a staff report said neither is other temporary snow disposal sites.

Without a new facility at Battler Road, the city has said it wouldn't have capacity to handle snow clearing this coming winter, even if it were an average snowfall. 

How will it work?

• Trucks will come in at the north end, drive a one-way loop around the facility before dumping snow at the south end of the open-air facility.
• That's where bulldozers will push the snow into a pile, 10-meters high.
• 12 to 15 trucks can be used at one time.
• Each dump takes about 20 minutes to complete the cycle.
• The snow will be left to melt on its own on the asphalt pad, no heating elements are used.