SHERIDAN — For the first time since 2016, South Park was used for winter snow storage and residents are concerned about environmental impacts.
Sheridan Green Drinks, an organization targeted toward people concerned about environmental impacts, discussed the South Park snow storage at its May meeting. Those in attendance expressed concern over the potential impacts of storing snow in the park.
“My biggest concern is, we’re dumping all this snow. It looks like dirty snow in a wetland but cars leak oil, battery acid, there’s trash, there’s poop, there’s pee,” Nick Flores said. “Everything in that snow that they’re dumping there, which all goes right to the Goose Creek trail systems, and it’s also a wetland area.”
Flores also said he noticed a lot of trash in and around the melting snow. Sheridan Public Works Director Hanns Mercer told The Sheridan Press the city plans to clean up the trash once the park dries up more.
Mercer said there were two reasons South Park was used for snow storage this year: the amount of snow and losing a previous storage location.
“It’s two factors. The main one being, the last several years, we haven’t had a lot of snow… This year, we had an abundance of snow,” Mercer said. “That, coupled with losing the lot by Home Depot on the south end. What we really need is south end snow storage.”
Mercer said the lot behind Home Depot was developed and therefore can no longer be used for snow storage. Mercer said the city has tried to store snow at the city-owned gun range but the location required too much travel time, which makes a location in the south part of town appealing for snow storage.
South Park was one of five city snow storage locations this year. The other four included a lot across the street from the M&M’s Center; Sheridan County School District 2’s Holly Seed property, which is located west of Sheridan High School; the new parks building near ProMec Services on Kroe Lane; and a lot located on Seymour Street, behind Wyoming Rents.
The state of Massachusetts prohibits snow dumping into wetlands. According to a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection document, storing snow in wetlands can cause flooding, impact aquatic life and impact the use of resources.
The extent of the environmental impact on wetlands used for snow storage is unclear. The Sheridan Press reported in 2014 a study analyzing soil at the Kroe Lane and South Park snow storage sites did not show a concerning Sodium Absorption Ratio.
According to a Wyoming Game and Fish Department document, wetlands serve as sponges that release water from various sources, including snowmelt, over time.
Flores said he wants to keep pushing the city to no longer use South Park to store snow because there may not be another litmus test to hold the city accountable for several years. Green Drinks meeting attendees also said they’d like to be part of the solution and help find a new snow storage location.
Mercer said the ideal scenario would be to no longer store snow at South Park, though the park currently serves as the most logical solution and the city is trying to find a solution that everybody approves of.
