While the idea has its merits, the actual impact of using plowed snow or snow removed from streets after storms to replenish a community’s raw water supply could result in dangerous chemicals and contaminants in the drinking water. While melting snow and runoff from surrounding streets and farmland does eventually make it to surrounding bodies of water, creeks and rivers, the process of natural filtration – water soaking into the ground, through clay, sand, rock, and sediment below – protects the water source’s natural environment from an abundance of hazardous chemicals and constituents put on roads, driveways, and farmland.
Treating raw water for consumer use is a delicate balancing act of continued filtration, chemical management and monitoring. Normal raw water supplies are measured and precisely treated within the community’s water treatment plant and are based on ongoing chemical balances and protocols. To introduce road chemicals, oils and brine from winter plowing would not only impact the ability to effectively and economically treat the raw water, but also introduce potentially hazardous materials and/or chemicals into the surrounding environment.
In short: It’s best to let nature take its course when it comes to melting snow and letting it make its way to the various lakes and tributaries surrounding the community.