(Washington, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray today rallied the District Snow Team as plow drivers, front-end loader operators, salt dome monitors, and IT and other administrative personnel prepared to practice their skills during the annual Dry Run conducted throughout the District.

“We have seen very little snow during the past two seasons,” said Mayor Gray. “In fact, last year we had only 2.5 inches. But in 2010-2011, we had 10 inches, and 2009-2010 saw almost 70 inches for the most snow in the District’s history. And what did we learn from Snowmageddon? We learned that advance preparation is the key to success.”

“The District has some of the most dedicated employees anywhere,” said City Administrator Allen Y. Lew. “The training and dedication that our staffs put into preparing to keep our streets safe is second to none, and our residents will see that in our performance if and when there is a severe weather event.”

Department of Public Works (DPW) Director William O. Howland, Jr. also emphasized the need for preparation. “While I hope the 2013-2014 snow season is as undemanding as last year, I know that our training, equipment readiness and supplies inventory have prepared us to handle ‘The Big One’,” he said. “Today, we are stronger. We have more equipment, our salt domes are filled, our brine/beet juice deicer is at capacity and you are ready to deploy.”

Several improvements have been made to the snow program since last year. Most notable is the new Fort Reno salt dome that can hold 73 percent more salt than the old dome. Other improvements include:

• Test of ceramic/rubber plow blades that are considered long lasting, offer efficient clearing, are safe for markings and utility holes, and reduce the need for plow wheels; 25 blades will be tested;
• Testing the effectiveness of in-cab Automatic Vehicle Locator progress screen that will indicate to the driver what streets have been serviced on their assigned route;
• The addition of three new 325-gallon liquid salt brine spray units to increase pavement pre-treatment prior to snow/ice events;
• New National Highway System (NHS) contract, which provides a 20 percent increase in overall available equipment for NHS;
• Zone captains will have laptops to provide greater situational awareness and real-time location of assets in the field;
• Two additional Roadway Weather Information Stations are online to allow greater real time pavement condition information;
• Enhanced safety training and expanded snow plow training with simulator that features scenery to expose drivers to urban driving conditions before they are on the road;
• Drivers’ training included techniques to leave curb cuts free of snow;
• Partnership with Serve DC, Office on Aging and Office on Disability Services to provide sidewalk shoveling services for the elderly and disabled; and
• Use of pet-safe deicer on bridge sidewalks.

At the conclusion of the program, Director Howland reminded District residents that Monday, November 4 is the opening day of leaf-collection season. “Please go to dpw.dc.gov to check the schedule to see when DPW will be in your neighborhood to collect leaves. Our leaf-collection staff is the backbone of our snow program. So when we have a credible prediction of snow, we will suspend collecting leaves until we are finished with snow,” he said.

For more information on how to receive snow/winter weather notifications and prepare for the winter season, please go to www.snow.dc.gov.