Where does the snow go? Another epic journey (cont)

Here is a great description of the whole process from Time Out New York (TONY).


"What happens to all that snow the plows collect?
Time and traffic help melt the snow after a mild winter pelting, but the
white mountains that form after a blizzard are another story. For those,
sanitation workers roll out 20 snow-melting machines; each one costs
$200,000 and can melt 60 tons of snow an hour, according to Kathy Dawkins, a
Sanitation spokesperson. The machines are placed near designated sewers all
over the city, and trucks dump loads of snow into them; the melted snow is
then directed to a facility where the water is filtered and treated so it
can be safely dumped into the rivers. The machines are fitted with screens
that catch the errant rat (not to mention rubbish) so it's not barbecued by
the massive heaters and plunged into the city's waterways."
-Nick Divito

This view from above may be a bit disorienting, but in lower edge of the picture is the snow melter, and in the middle of the pic is the loader, scooping up snow from the pile, left by a steady line of dump trucks. This is at the corner of Church Street and Park Place, alongside the Woolworth Building, the other end of the street in previous picture. (as always, click to enlarge)



A close-up view of the loader and the "snow-begone" boiler. The front end of it is positioned right above a manhole, through which the melted snow runs off to the river.