Every winter, we watch from our windows as massive piles of snow are scooped up and taken away so that we can safely and enjoyably make our way through the day. Have you ever wondered where all of that plowed snow goes, or how much it costs the City of Ottawa and private snow removal companies to make it disappear?

In 2015, for the fourth year in a row, the city ran a deficit in the snow removal budget totalling $7.6 million. As a result, the city will be implementing new snow clearing measures this year to cut down on costs. In fact, this winter, the City of Ottawa is looking to save $6 million of its winter operations budget on services such as snow removal, plowing, and salting. How will they do this? One way the City of Ottawa plans to save money on snow removal is by only sending snowplows to residential streets after 10cm of snowfall, instead of the previously set 7cm.

Additionally, the City of Ottawa’s snow disposal facilities no longer accept non-city snow from private operators. Earlier in the year, the city cracked down on many private contractors for illegally dumping snow on public sidewalks or blowing it into roadways and are now looking to raise the price of the fines for illegal snow dumping from $105.00 to $500.00.

But what does this all mean for Marsten customers? Well actually, nothing!

Marsten owns a 4.94 acre fully-licensed snow dumping facility at 4084 Albion Road, which allows appreciable savings in snow transportation and dumping costs. Also located on this property are large salt storage facilities, as we supply our own salt — meaning we’ll never run out! Our clients can rest easy knowing that they are dealing with legitimate contractors, who are disposing of their snow legally and efficiently. With our fleet of pickups, plows, and backhoes, Marsten’s snow removal services can clear as much as one hundred loads of snow in just four to five hours.

None of these snow clearing changes made by the City of Ottawa affect snow removal operations here at Marsten, meaning that we can continue to give you the same high-quality efficient service that we are known for.

For your peace of mind, contact Marsten today for all of your snow dumping and snow removal needs. We get the job done quickly, efficiently, and are always on call to provide emergency snow removal if needed.