Alternative Winter MaintenanceFeatured in Mother Earth News. Alernative Winter Maintenance PracticesOperator training: It is essential that all equipment operators be well trained in applying materials appropriately with their assigned application equipment. It is expected that operators will apply appropriate quantities of anti-icing/deicing chemicals as per the Operations Matrix and or as conditions warrant. The acting "Snow Supervisor" has the final say on rates and materials during all snow events. Materials: Alternative granular deicing chemicals continue to be evaluated for effectiveness, non-corrosive properties, ease of application, and cost. Grounds personnel will use only those materials deemed least damaging to University facilities and the environment. GWM is currently using Magnesium chloride as its primary granular deicer for walks, steps, plazas, entryways, etc. Application: Grounds will continue to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the practice "anti-icing". Anti-icing chemicals will be applied to paved surfaces when forecasts indicate there is a 50%amp; probability of precipitation or other factors that may lead to slippery conditions for pedestrians and motorists. Research has shown that anti-icing practices improve the level of service and reduce total salt usage. Personnel will follow guidelines laid out in the "Operations Matrix". Reduced salt use through expansion of liquid anti-icing/deicing materials and equipment: GWM currently has 10 liquid application units to cover all roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and entryways. Areas designated for anti-icing/deicing treatments will be sprayed with rates of application outlined in the "Operations Matrix". The principle liquid materials for 2004/2005 will be Caliber M-1000 (an engineered agricultural byproduct blended with 30% concentration magnesium chloride brine in a 1:9 ratio respectively) mixed 90/10 with Salt Brine. This product has corrosion inhibiting properties and a very low effective melting temperature. GWM currently has 3 salt spreaders in its fleet that have ground speed control equipment installed. Ground speed control and the associated in cab computer system enables the operator to make precise applications regardless of vehicle speed. Additionally, Grounds personnel can download actual material application data from each of these three vehicles in real time. These vehicles are equipped with RoadWatch pavement and ambient air temperature sensors. This information is useful to operators for understanding what is occurring at the pavement surface and how to best manage resources. GWM currently has a 925 gallon liquid application unit that is designed to apply liquids on roads and parking lots for anti-icing and de-icing. This unit is capable of working up to 45 mph covering one, two or three drive lanes. The rates are computer controlled correlated to ground speed from inside the cab. Because most of the salt that is used on campus is on the roads and parking lots, this is the key to meeting our salt reduction goals of 50% set for this year. One of our plans for this year is to apply our 90/10 mix directly to small snows of one inch or less. GWM will continue to use our Veritech Brine maker to manufacture 23.3% brine derived from standard, untreated road salt. This material will be applied alone when conditions warrant it and will be blended in various ratios with the Caliber M-1000 when colder effective temperature ranges are necessary. The inclusion of the sodium chloride brine in the product mix will reduce costs and enable more wide spread application. Application rates have been set at 10-20 gallons per lane mile (12' x 5280' or 1.454 acres) in the anti-icing mode and 40-60 gallons per lane mile in the de-icing mode. Two additional 4500 gallon liquid storage tanks have been built in the north campus salt storage building. Including our existing 9000 gallon storage facility at our Fuller road building this brings our total storage capacity to 18,000 gallons. Treated road salt: GWM will continue to evaluate the practice of using treated road salt. This practice improves the level of service while cutting total salt use. Treated salt is rock salt that has a magnesium chloride based solution blended applied at a rate of approximately 8 to 10 gallons per ton. Treated salt has faster melting properties, reduces the temperature at which salt is effective, and minimizes bounce and scatter on the road surface resulting in less salt loss to inappropriate areas. GWM is currently using treated salt as its primary material. Closure of non-essential facilities ingress/egress: Campus facilities continue to be evaluated for the potential to close certain areas of campus for maintenance purposes. Provided that customer convenience is not compromised, closure of non-essential areas reduces maintenance costs, speeds up reaction time, reduces potential exposure to liability, and reduces the use of chemical deicers. Additional ongoing programs: This includes enclosing walk and ramps from the elements, the potential for heating paved surfaces, paving surface materials and how they impact snow removal operations or are impacted by them, paved surface area obstacles which hinder snow clearance and result in equipment damage and down time, automatic liquid deicing dispensing systems for high value/high use infrastructure, potential of heating the liquid materials to improve physical melting and the products viscosity and other properties, consideration of campus weather station that includes ground temperature, exploration of a winter emergency ordinance for the winter months. If you are interested in further information please check the O.S.E.H web page on stormwater quality, or contact GWM Foreman Rob Doletzky at 763-5539. |
Salt De-Icing Program Mission ![[image, Winter ice storm on campus]](/grounds/pictures/ice_storm.jpg)
"establish and promote best management practices for deicing that minimize deterioration to buildings, infrastructure, and the environment without compromising safety."
Brine treated walkway ![[image, Brine treated walkway]](/grounds/pictures/brine_treated_walk.jpg)
Anti-icing Bonisteel Ave. ![[image, Anti-icing on Bonisteel]](/grounds/pictures/anti_icing_roadway.jpg)
Closure priority value ![[image, Closure piority value]](/grounds/pictures/Closure_priority.jpg)
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![[image, Salt bay for GWM]](/grounds/pictures/salt_bay.jpg)
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