Resources and tips for reassessing your property after winter
Spring Renewals: Updating Your Winter Maintenance Plan
Spring is just weeks away. As temperatures rise and snow melts, leftover winter salt washes into local streams, creeks, rivers and lakes. That’s why now is the perfect time to review your winter maintenance plan and to learn how to reduce the amount of salt your property needs.
Review Your Salt Use
As you revisit your winter maintenance plan, consider asking yourself these questions:
Was Salt Excessively Applied?
Using too much salt can create more problems than it solves. Excess salt is:
- A potential slip and fall hazard, as it can actually reduce friction on walkways and parking lots
- Corrosive to metals and pavement, e.g., cars and parking lots
- Damaging to carpet, footwear and the paws of pets
- Toxic to wildlife, like brook trout, snapping turtles, four-toed salamanders and other freshwater fishes and amphibians that depend on our waterways
Are Your Contractors or Staff Smart About Salt Certified?
Ensuring your contractors or staff are Smart About Salt certified can help reduce building and property maintenance costs. In some municipalities, like Mississauga, businesses with a salt management plan are eligible for a 10 per cent credit through the Mississauga Stormwater Charge Program if they or their contractor are Smart About Salt certified. Overall, appropriate salt use and Smart About Salt certification contribute to healthier communities.
Was Snow Piled Properly?
Piling snow near drains and catch basins allows melting snow to flow freely away from parking lots and walkways helping prevent freezing and reducing the need for salt. Alternatively, piling snow in a planted area, like a swale, lets meltwater filter through vegetation and into the soil instead of contaminating our waterways.
Winter Maintenance Plan
If your winter maintenance plan needs updating, consult the Peel Region winter maintenance for commercial properties toolkit for helpful resources and tips.
The New Three Rs: Restore, Repair, Retrofit
Photo: Parking Lot Reflection by jcarwash31.
Winter can be tough on your property. Ice, piles of snow and fluctuating temperatures can cause flooding and strong winds can sweep away bare soil and scatter litter and debris. Potential damage may not be noticeable until the warmer months, making frequent property assessments even more important.
Restore, Repair or Retrofit
This spring, plan to restore, repair or retrofit areas of your property after a harsh winter. Signs of damage to look for include:
- Long-lasting puddles on walkways, parking lots and green areas. These types of puddles can indicate ponding, which can cause ice hazards, sinkholes and cracked and/or heaved pavement.
- Scoured, muddy or eroded earth, which can cause a build up of sediment in and around stormwater drains and can increase the risk of flooding.
- Garbage and debris blocking storm drains and culverts, which can prevent the flow of stormwater, a fineable offence in some municipalities.
- Broken or dead plants, which may suggest damage from ice, wind and/or road salts, and which may mean less curb appeal for your property.
We’re Here to Help
When you’re ready to restore, repair or retrofit aspects on your property, we’re here to help by providing cost-effective and sustainable options.
Connect with us to learn how sustainable landscaping can better protect your property from harsh winter conditions.
Rejuvenate for Summer
Renew your property and welcome biodiversity this summer, by reducing how much lawn you have. Consider adding a no-mow zone, wildflower meadow or mini-forest.