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After the storm, a man clears snow, in Toronto, Canada, January 17, 2022. – © Cole Burston / AFP
After the storm, a man clears snow, in Toronto, Canada, January 17, 2022. – © Cole Burston / AFP
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January 19, 2022 at 9:50 a.m.,
Reading time: 4 minutes
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Montreal (Canada), correspondence
Nearly fifty centimeters of snow fell on Ottawa, in eastern Ontario, in less than a day, Monday January 17th. Either one of the ten largest storms recorded at the city’s airport. In Toronto, motorists had to wait nine hours on the highway and hundreds of buses are still stuck in the snow. « A real disaster », for Doug Ford, Premier of the province. Camera pointed at him, he even spent part of his day helping, shovel in hand, motorists who got stuck in the piles of snow.
On winter stormy days in Canada, the ballet is rigorously orchestrated. The same evening, when the snow is still fresh and light (and the children are crossing their fingers that the school will be closed the next day), the neighbors get out large shovels and begin to lift it rhythmically. The next day, don’t think about it, it has already become quite heavy with the frost of the night. It is then up to the snowplows, with which individuals sign contracts, to enter the dance to come and clear the private entrances, while the municipal machines are busy clearing the roadway.
The hefty bill of snow removal for the environment
In a few hours in Montreal, most of the time, the major axes are free and the smaller ones follow the days after. It must be said that the municipal budget devoted to snow removal is gargantuan: 178 million Canadian dollars in 2020 (i.e. 125 million euros), and the bill exceeds 200 million in some years. To compare, The world had calculated in 2018 that the 6,000 tonnes of salt purchased by Paris each year cost around 100,000 euros (the price of salt spreaders and snow plows had not been quantified).
This dance of the snowplows also has a huge ecological cost. They can emit nearly 150 kilograms of CO2 in two hours, the equivalent of a city car that would run five times longer. And when the layer of snow is thick, the trucks are added. In 2019, the city estimated 50,000 the number of truck trips needed to unload the snow – especially in quarries – when the layer reached 20 centimeters.
- The municipal budget devoted to snow removal is gargantuan. © Alexis Gacon/Reporterre
The salts used to melt the snow aren’t green either. They have been considered since 2001 as « toxic substances » according to the Canadian law on the protection of the environment, but their use is still massive. Nearly 1.5 million tonnes are spread each year in Quebec and more than half end up seeping into surface waters, according to Canadian data. A report cited by the Government of Quebec claims that 15 % of trees along roads are damaged by de-icing salts. They also encourage the proliferation of invasive plants along the roads, such as reeds, which are very tolerant to salt, which threaten the biodiversity of wetlands. On top of that, they prematurely age lakes and contaminate wells.
In recent years, Quebec cities have been buying pre-moistened salts, which stick to the ground faster and are more resistant to cold. They reduce the amount used by 30 to 40 %, but are still harmful to the environment. Other options have been tested, such as mixing the salt with beetroot juice. Too fragrant for some municipalities. Corn syrup has also been experimented with, as have wood chips. But in 2020, Montreal was still calling on researchers to help find a cleaner way to clear snow.
There will remain many other opportunities this year to innovate because each winter, Quebec suffers from six snowstorms on average. More snowflakes are expected this Wednesday and an extreme cold warning is announced, with temperatures in sight of -38 ° C overnight, in western Quebec. We’ll have to shovel quickly… and get warm.