‘Huge amount of work’: Record snowfall strains Kitchener snow removal, salt supplies

The region is experiencing its snowiest winter on record, and the impacts are adding up as the season reaches its midpoint. CTV's Tony Grace has more.

Waterloo Region is experiencing its snowiest winter on record, and the impacts are already adding up as the season reaches its midpoint.

During a Monday night city council meeting, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said that city crews have hauled more than three-and-a-half times the usual amount of snow to the Battler Road snow dump compared to this time last year.

“3,123 truckloads, which is three-and-a-half times the amount we’ve moved this year compared to the same point of last year. So, huge amount of work,” Vrbanovic said.

City officials say the persistent snowfall is also prompting a closer look at winter road maintenance practices once the season ends.

Denise McGoldrick, Kitchener’s general manager of infrastructure services, said staff plan to conduct a detailed review of lessons learned during what has been a particularly harsh winter.

In the meantime, the city continues to battle the provincial salt shortage. McGoldrick said approximately 67 per cent of Kitchener’s salt supply has already been used, despite winter only being halfway through.

To help stretch remaining supplies, the city has been mixing in sand with salt during road treatment operations.

“So, we’re very carefully monitoring and conserving our available salt supplies and working with the contractor to extend the amount of salt we can purchase,” McGoldrick explained during Monday’s meeting.

Officials are also preparing for potentially challenging conditions later in the season, when melting snowpack could create additional hazards on roadways.

According to the University of Waterloo Weather Station, the region has received 206 centimetres of snow so far this winter — more than double the historical average of 95 centimetres typically recorded by this point in the season.