UW-Madison has been storing snow north of Goodman Field and south of a marsh that borders Lake Mendota for years, but this winter the snow overwhelmed the storage space and caused passers-by to worry about effects on the lake.
“A berm surrounds the snow pile, and silt fences and hay bales help filter the runoff from the snow pile. But with this year’s snow, as much as we’ve had, some snow was pushed over the bales and barrier so some runoff is going directly into the marsh,” said John Harrod, director of the physical plant for the university.
“We are working to clean it up so we can minimize impacts on the marsh.”