Snow hauling in Ottawa: when the banks are full and the snow has to leave the lot

When a pile has nowhere left to go

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1981–2010 normals for the Ottawa airport add up to 223 cm of snowfall a year, about 188 cm of it from December to March. A plow or blower moves that snow a few metres, onto the lawn beside the driveway. On a narrow townhouse lot, a corner lot or a driveway boxed in by a hedge, the banks grow all winter, and a late storm can have no place to land.

Hauling is the next step: a machine loads the banks into a truck and the snow leaves the property. It suits a driveway that has shrunk to one car width, banks that block the view of the street when backing out, or snow from a roof clearing sits against the house. The City’s Property Maintenance By-law asks owners and occupants to keep roofs and surrounding lands free of snow or ice that might create an accident hazard, with a fine of $500 to $10,000 for each day or part of a day an offence continues, on conviction.

Where hauled snow is allowed to go

The Use and Care of Roads By-law bars anyone from throwing, pushing, plowing or dumping snow or ice on a highway; the City’s clearing page lists streets, sidewalks, pathways and parks. The City’s SNOW KNOWledge brochure makes it an offence for a contractor to dump snow on private property other than the client’s, on public property or in an accessible parking space.

The City’s own snow disposal facilities are closed to private operators. They take only snow removed from public property on the City’s behalf. The brochure tells owners to keep snow on the property or move it to an authorized snow disposal facility. So every quote for a haul should answer one question in writing: where do the truckloads go?

Street banks, driveway banks and the City’s part

The City removes or reduces snowbanks on its streets when they restrict sightlines, travel widths or traffic. Its snow removal page says residents are responsible for the snowbanks along their private driveway, and the pile a street plow leaves at the end of the driveway is the owner’s too, as the windrow page explains.

Before street banks come down, City staff put temporary no-parking signs into them. Cars left in the zone are fined and towed, permit or not. If your haul falls on the same days, tell the company. The City also asks residents to keep hydrants and catch basins clear; mention any near your banks.

What sets the price of a haul

HomeStars lists snow hauling among Ottawa snow services and puts hourly snow work at $60–$100 for residential jobs and $100–$250+ with heavy equipment. The haul price moves with:

• Volume. Length, height and number of banks.
• Machines and trips. HomeStars prices heavy equipment by the hour, and each load drives to a legal destination and back. Ask about a minimum charge.
• Access. Room for a truck at the curb, parked cars, a shared lane, fences or beds close to the piles.
• Timing. A Canada-wide HomeStars guide lists travel fees, emergency call-outs and equipment surcharges among the charges that surprise owners.

What the quote should list

The price basis (per hour per machine, per load, or one figure), any minimum or travel charge, and each bank by place: sides of the driveway, front yard, end of the driveway, the roof pile. It should state where the snow goes, who pays for marks on lawn, curb or interlock, and HST.

The City licenses snow plow contractors, meaning businesses that clear snow from private property with a vehicle. Its brochure says to ask for proof of the City’s business licence, check the list at ottawa.ca/consumerawareness and look for an orange plate with a valid annual sticker on the vehicle; contractors must carry minimum insurance coverage of $2 million. In Ontario, most agreements over $50 must be in writing, if a written estimate is part of the contract, the final price can run 10% over it at most unless you sign a change, and a contract signed at home has a 10-day cooling-off period.

One haul, or a rate set for the winter

A haul can be booked once, when the banks fill. If you have a seasonal contract, ask that company for its hauling rate before the banks fill; one firm’s terms let its crew use the side of the driveway once storage runs short. On a townhouse row, say whose banks the request covers.

Who you are dealing with

Ottawa Snow Desk passes your request to one independent local snow company. That company calls you back, looks at the banks, prices the loading and the haul, and does the work.