Site snow storage piles for stormwater and meltwater compliance

Steps

1. Site snow storage and disposal areas on pervious surfaces in upland areas, away from wells and water resources, so meltwater has a chance to infiltrate rather than running directly to a waterway.
2. Never pile snow directly over designed infiltration facilities (bioretention areas, infiltration basins), since debris in plowed snow can clog them.
3. Keep snow storage off of storm drain catch basins and out of drainage swales or ditches to avoid blocking the stormwater system and causing localized flooding.
4. Recognize that meltwater from large commercial snow piles carries elevated chloride, phosphorus, metals, and biochemical oxygen demand, and factor this into site selection near sensitive receiving waters.
5. Check whether the specific site holds an NPDES stormwater permit (such as an MS4 or industrial permit) that snow storage practices need to support, since there is no separate federal snow-storage-specific permit but storage choices affect compliance with the broader permit.