I belive he wants the old way. Before people used ice. Not snow. Every winter one took a ice cutting day, you store the ice in the foodcellar. Take in what you need and defrost. What is left during the spring you cover with sawdust to keep the celler cold in the summer.
Never done it. But i belive thats how they did.
He is talking about water för drinking and washing, not for storing food.
And people may have had an ice cellar, but that was not the common way. Most people would not have had an ice cellar, but used a root cellar (jordkällare). And people did not use ice for storing water, maybe as an exception, but they used a well, or a stream for water.
Root vegetables, and preserves was stored in the "root cellar" (jordkällare). Other foddstuffs were salted, fermented, dried or smoked to
For water, a dug well with stonesat sides, or a stream that does not freeze was used. Almost Never still water from a lake or a pond, but if ther is a lake with good clean water, to get water in winter, just make a hole in the ice.