Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.76
Liaison Mike Versteege
Submission Date Oct. 10, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Alberta
OP-T2-22: Snow and Ice Removal

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.25 / 0.25 Ray Dumouchel
Associate Director, Buildings and Grounds Services
Operations and Maintenance
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Has the institution implemented technologies or strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of snow and ice removal?:
Yes

A brief description of the snow and ice removal program, policy, or practice:

CONTEXT
The University of Alberta is located in Edmonton, Alberta, which has an average of eight months of snowfall (October-May) and an average annual snowfall of 115 cm (45 1/4 inches) [compared to Vancouver, BC, which receives an average of 43 cm (17 inches) over six months and Toronto, ON, which receives 133 cm (52 3/8 inches) over seven months]. With these comparisons in mind, it is clear that UAlberta's snow and ice removal practices are an important part of our operations and maintenance strategy.

Augustana Campus is a satellite campus located in Camrose, Alberta (average annual snowfall of 122 cm over eight months which is similar to Edmonton conditions).

PRACTICES
Buildings and Grounds Services (BGS) has taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of the entire UAlberta community while minimizing its negative impact on the landscape, such as:

- Eliminating salted sand use on campus
- Using a rock chip product that requires minimal salt content to keep the material usable, even in Alberta’s coldest winter months
- Utilizing an eco-friendly ice melt product (REGARD ECO-MELT) that minimizes the effects on landscaped areas
- Training staff in the proper use of the ice melt product.

Augustana Campus recently implemented a new snow and ice removal program to further enhance the practices already in place. Along with their standard practices, which are consistent with North Campus and Campus Saint-Jean as listed above, a detailed diagram of the campus has been prepared to assist equipment operators in ploughing and storing snow in ways to reduce effects on grass, trees, shrubs, spring water runoff, etc.

NOTE
The weather statistics presented here represent the average weather conditions over the past 30 years (from http://www.theweathernetwork.com/statistics/).


The website URL where information about the program, policy, or practice is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.