Snowmelt Water Analysis Tool

Project Summary

During warmer winter/spring days, meltwater from snow piles sprawls onto streets and parking lots. When temperatures drop, the sprawl freezes, requiring salt to be placed. This salt often finds its way into lakes and rivers, accumulating over time. This is harmful to aquatic life that live in these waters. Studying which factors affect sprawl may allow us to help reduce meltwater sprawl, decreasing the amount of salt that needs to be placed each year.

Design Goal

The goal of the project is to minimize and/or eliminate snowmelt sprawl after any given thaw-freeze cycle. This allows for less de-icing salt to be placed on roadways, which ultimately means fewer natural ecosystems are polluted with high salt contents. The future goal within Bolton & Menk (or future researchers) is to better understand the factors that affect snow melt sprawl, so design parameters can be implemented. This would ensure that snowmelt sprawl could be minimized or eliminated in the future.

Design Constraints

• Clear Sprawl: The sprawl needs to be easily discernable.
• Dry Surfaces: The sprawl must be measured on days when testing sites are dry.
• Synthetic Testing: When natural snow is unavailable, sprawling conditions must be replicated synthetically.