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Finding Places To Stick The Snow

Posted at 7:51 PM, Jan 08, 2014
and last updated 2014-01-08 20:00:58-05

Holland, Mich. — The question for many West Michigan cities this January is: ‘Where to put all the snow?’.

In Holland, it’s been snowing continuously for weeks.

City employee Chris Twork specializes in irrigation in the summer, but this winter he’s working with the frozen form of water.

“Oh boy, these piles. I`ve never seen this much snow, it`s been crazy. We just started hauling today and it`s been endless,” said Chris Twork, Irrigation Specialist for the city of Holland.

He said he doesn’t see any signs off this stopping.

“No, I`d like some sleep,” said Twork.

Twork said he took around 30 loads of the white stuff to the designated dumping ground out of city lots by Wednesday afternoon alone.

The city chose the parking lot of Kollen Park near the lake because it’s sto close to downtown, and it’s efficient and economical.

“A lot of our snow piles will get 20 to 30 feet high, so this is just the start,” said Brian White, Interim Transportation Services Director.

“We just started today hauling snow today,” said Twork. “Yeah, so it`s probably going to fill this lot half full.”

“This is definitely a year that has tracked much higher with regard to snowfall,” said White. “Definitely this is more than ususal for Holland.”

When the snow finally does melt, it will be filtered through mesh silt bags when it hits the catch basins.

“This will capture all the grit and grime and sand and get it before it gets into Lake Macatawa,” said White.

The guys say it’s hard to believe, but mother nature will eventually do the rest of the cleanup for them in a few months.

“We get rid of them before tulip time, so they`ll be gone,” said White.

There is also a dump location for snow located in the civic center parking lot and off of fourth street.