Snow & Ice Frequently Asked Questions
 Which roads get plowed and/or sanded first?
 Arterials and Collectors (those carrying the highest volume of traffic) will receive attention first.
How much snow has to fall before the County responds?
Snow plowing will commence with the accumulation of four (4) inches of snow. This amount may be modified if a determination is made by the County that warrants initiating snow plowing with less than four (4) inches of accumulation.
Why won't the County clear the snow berm off my driveway while plowing?
The County has insufficient resources to enable the removal of driveway berms.
I live on a public road - why doesn't the County plow it?
State law, as well as the Board of County Commissioners policy on the expenditure of the County's limited resources, prohibit the County from plowing public roads that are not designated as "County Roads".
The County snowplow knocked down my mailbox. Who is responsible?
Only mailboxes physically hit by County equipment will be reinstalled by the County. Mailboxes knocked down by flying snow or slush will not be reinstalled by the County. It is the mailbox owner's responsibility to install and keep the mailbox and post in a condition to withstand side cast snow and gravel. Snowplow operators make every effort to avoid causing damage, but are not held responsible for substandard mailboxes or posts.
What is the County's policy on sanding?
The application of sanding material shall be made only at intersecting roadways requiring the stopping of vehicles, horizontal curves, grades exceeding 10% and bridges.
Will the County remove the snow to provide access to my mailbox?
No. It is the responsibility of the property owner to provide clear access up to the mailbox for the postal carrier. However, access clearing to mailboxes adjacent to the pavement or roadway edge may occur in clean up and widening work as time allows.
Why won't the County clear the snow off my sidewalk?
It requires all available resources to clear only the travel lanes. In the process of snow plowing, sidewalks may be covered. It is the responsibility of the land owner to remove such snow.
How will I know when the road I live on will be plowed?
Arterial and Collector roads (those carrying the highest volume of traffic) will be done first. Local roads and subdivision are second and third priority and will be done during the road widening process.
When did Deschutes County start using chemicals to help control icy road conditions?
The various chemicals available were studied during 1995 and 1996. Our first full winter of use was in 1997 when we applied 42,500 gallons. That was almost exclusively in the Bend and Redmond air sheds. During the winter ending March 2001 we used 125,000 gallons throughout the county.
Why has Deschutes County started using chemicals in their snow and ice control program?
There are several factors that have influenced our decision to add chemicals to our tool bag for ice control.
 Environmental: During the early 1990s several environmental concerns about traditional sanding methods were being raised. The most dominant were air quality and water quality.
The National Marine Fisheries Services ask that agencies quit allowing sanding materials to get into streams and rivers. (This is the same agency that turned the water off in the Klamath Basin and talks about removing dams to benefit fish runs.)
The Bend clean air committee asked that agencies find a way to reduce the amount of dust in the air during the winter months.
Recent efforts led by ODOT to establish new gravel mining sites indicate it will become increasingly more difficult to obtain sanding materials.
Economics: While the cinders that we and other agencies use are the least costly of any material in the state, the cost of spreading and retrieving them is high. Over the past 5years it has cost the county an average $6.20 per cubic yard to acquire and store sanding cinders, just over $23 per cubic yard to spread them, and an additional $6.18 per cubic yard to sweep them off the road after winter. That is a total of $35.10 per cubic yard. FreezGard costs about $1.00 per gallon to use.
Effectiveness: The Insurance Company of British Columbia sponsored a 2 year study in the City of Kamloops and found a 73% reduction in the number of slush, snow, and ice related collisions. The City received a substantial reduction in their insurance costs. A similar reduction is being implemented for residents.
FreezGard will stay on the road and melt morning frost for 3 to 4 days. Traditional sand stays on the wheel paths of the road for about as long as it takes 20 vehicles to pass. When the surface temperature warms the moisture leaves the FreezGard and it remains as a thin dry film on the surface. Traditional sand remains on the edges of the travel lanes and near centerline, creating dust and a potential slipping hazard.
During a 1997 freezing rain situation, one truck with FreezGard Zero was able to treat the road intersections from Bend to Terrebonne along the Old Redmond-Bend Highway, the hills on NE1st Street and Smith Rock Way, and return to Tumalo, treating all intersections along the Cline Falls Highway in just over 2 hours time. A sanding truck, dispatched at the same time, was loading his 3rd load of sand and had not yet reached Redmond in the same period of time.
Are chemical deicers safe?
The FreezGard Zero MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) indicates that FreezGard Zero is safe.
What do we know about chemical deicers?
This genre of products is the most tested of any product used in road maintenance and construction, with the possible exception of asphalt cement. There are several chemicals tested and approved as safe that are available to use for anti-icing. FreezGard Zero is the chemical solution that has been chosen by the Deschutes County Road Department for a number of reasons.
The states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana and the Canadian Province of British Columbia formed a group that calls it's self the Pacific Northwest Snowfighters (PNS). The PNS started as a grass roots group of maintenance workers, laboratory technicians, and other users of the products. Through their study of products available for deicing they have developed a strict set of specifications that products must meet before being placed on an approved products list.
There is detailed information on the test protocols and specifications at their website. Pacific Northwest Snowfighters:
The major active ingredient in FreezGard Zero is Magnesium Chloride. It also contains a corrosion inhibitor called Shield LS. Because the specifications are so tight and specific on the Magnesium Chloride the corrosion inhibitor is the only element of the product that a vendor can use to compete with each other. We therefore know very little about the make up of these inhibitors. Shield LS and most others are made from byproducts of food processing, and work by creating a film that prevents oxygen from reaching the chloride molecules or the metal surface. It is mostly this 'syrup' that we see on our vehicles. It should be washed off regularly because it is sticky and attracts dirt and grime.
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