Canada: City to Use Geothermal Heat in Storm Drains to Keep Roads Free of Snow

City to access geothermal heat to keep winter roads clear (News Release)

In a recent closed meeting Fort St John (British Columbia) City Council approved the use of a drilling rig on the old hospital site on 100th Avenue to access geothermal heat. The heat accessed from this site will be piped throughout the city using storm drains and will be sufficiently warm enough to melt snow from the roads even on the coldest winter days. The rig is already set up and drilling will commence early next week.

City storm drains run underneath all city roads so they are the perfect vehicle to pump the heat through to warm the roads and melt the snow. This is the first time in North America a city has tapped into this heat source for road maintenance. (Actually, this is already being done in other North American cities such as Boise, Idaho and Klamath Falls, Oregon).

“People in our region are used to seeing drilling rigs but to have one right downtown is a bit unusual so we will be adding some flowering shrubs around the rig and at Christmas we will put lights on it. We can really make that area look nice,” stated Grounds Manager Chris Murphy.

The City looks forward to snow free roads next winter and wishes all citizens a very happy April Fool’s Day.

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