So That's Where the Snow Goes ...

NEXT »

 

A few days ago, the Inquirer ran a letter from David Velinsky and Roland Wall, both of the Academy of Natural Sciences. The letter praised Mayor Nutter and the government for not dumping snow into the Schuylkill River.

Snow collects all the shit from the street—motor oil, salt, litter—and when it's plowed and piled together into great clumps, the contamination is concentrated, leading to what Velinsky and Wall describe as "acute toxic impacts." Dropping the snow in the river, while convenient, is certainly a bad idea, especially now, when the Schuylkill is "finally starting to show signs of renewed ecological health."

So, great, no snow in the river this winter. Except, as a reader pointed out to us, and the pictures above demonstrate: snow plows are still dumping all that snow directly into the river. Looks like someone owes us all an explanation.

Thanks to Jonathan Hudson for the photos and the tip.