Winter is a season with arguably the most dangerous and annoying weather. Snow can be packed down to create hazardous driving conditions, ice can make sidewalks unwalkable and the cold can make being outside unbearable.

When winter activity occurs in Ames, it is the Iowa State facilities staff that has to make campus safe for students.

Jeff Witt, interim associate vice president for facilities, discussed the various procedures that have to occur in order for the campus to be safe and functioning.

When discussing a winter storm, Witt said, “The ground [crew] will lay down brine a day or two in advance.”

Brine is a salt solution put onto streets in order to prevent the formation of ice. By spraying down brine ahead of a storm, the salt is able to better stick to the road.

Although brine is applied to the roads, sidewalks are not coated in brine. Since the sidewalks are not treated with brine, sidewalks can have ice and snow form creating a slick walkway.

Witt said that sidewalks also have work done on them as sand and salt are put down in order to help prevent slipping.

Both the sidewalks and streets on campus are plowed in order to get snow and slush out of the way for students.

In some parking lots, snow is pushed into a concentrated area. According to Witt, the snow is later transferred to an open space near Frederiksen Court, the same place where the fire services practice.

Maintaining campus is not an easy task.

“Grounds people [are] on call for snow events,” Witt said. Since snow does not always fall from 9 to 5, the grounds crew have to be available to deal with a storm whenever the storm arrives.

On top of being on call for a possible storm, ground crews have to monitor the condition of roads and sidewalks in order to know when more salt and sand are needed, or when a plow needs to clear an area again.

Beyond getting the streets and sidewalks ready, facilities staff has to address other winter related issues during the storm and before winter even begins.

Witt said that as early as October and November work is done in order to prevent pipes from freezing in buildings and prepare the heating systems for winter.

Protocol is also in place in the case of a cold winter. Although the 2016-2017 winter has not been unreasonably cold, there are plans for when the temperature is significantly below freezing.

Additives may be added into the fuel of the vehicles in order to prevent a cold winter day from causing the vehicles to not move, explained Witt.

Even without cold weather, equipment can break and malfunction. Facilities cannot halt work due to equipment damage, so some backups are on hand. Mechanics are a part of the staff that can fix the equipment and alternative methods are implemented if equipment cannot be fixed or replaced rapidly.