Ontario snow storage facilities struggle to keep up amid snowfall surge

As Ontario is still working to clean up after the back-to-back winter storms, cities like Waterloo and Toronto face challenges with snow storage facility infrastructure.

Ontario’s snow storage facilities are feeling the strain as this winter’s record-breaking snowfalls continue to put infrastructure to the test.

With cities still cleaning up after back-to-back snowstorms, regions like the city of Waterloo are being pushed to their limits, with crews working overtime, stretching resources and raising concerns about how to handle future snowstorms.

Currently, Waterloo’s snow storage capacity is over 60 per cent, with 30,000 cubic metres of snow already hauled away to designated sites, said Bob Henderson, the city’s transportation services director.

Despite these efforts, there is still lots of snow left to be cleared and transported to storage facilities, which are quickly filling up, he added.

“The volume of snow received this season was unprecedented,” Henderson told Global News.

“The city is responding by utilizing all available resources, internal and contracted, 24-7.”

City officials are already assessing the need for more snow storage facilities in case the city faces the possibility of additional snowstorms in the coming weeks.

“If another significant snowstorm were to occur, we would need to re-evaluate our capacity and look for other options,” a city spokesperson added.