A Study on Hydrological Parameters of Permeable Pavements

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is a topic of increasing importance in the construction industry and its management. Porous pavement is one of the green infrastructures that reduce the negative environmental impact from storm water runoff in the urban area. Permeable pavement technologies are an important aspect in sustainable design. Traditional pavement surfaces are virtually impermeable and are used in conjunction with ditches and storm drains to channelize precipitation towards storm water management facilities. Permeable pavements provide a different approach. Rather than channelizing precipitation along the surface of the pavement, the water is allowed to infiltrate and flow through the pavement surface where it can be stored and slowly allowed to return into the local groundwater system. A pavement slab suitable for low traffic volume roads is designed as per IRC SP62: 2004 which allows storage of water upto 125 lit./m3of concrete pavement giving time for infiltration thereby reducing the runoff and recharging the ground water or sufficient time for transport of it. The study results can help quantify the environmental impacts and costs of using porous pavement surface at light traffic condition and select the sustainable pavement alternative.