Research : Stormwater
Management
BMPs: The Effectiveness of Porous Pavements in
the Georgia Piedmont
A variety of best management practices (BMPs) exist to reduce the amount
of runoff and pollutant loads entering streams. One of these is porous
pavements. Porous pavements allow precipitation to infiltrate through
the pavement to the soil, mimicking natural soil conditions. Despite
these benefits, porous pavements are not widely used in Georgia or the
United States because of uncertainty about their performance. Graduate Assistant Erin Dreelin investigated the efficacy of porous pavements in controlling
stormwater runoff for her 2004 PhD dissertation. She conducted on-site monitoring of porous and
impervious parking lots and field experiments to evaluate the effectiveness
of porous pavements in reducing stormwater runoff in comparison to traditional
impervious pavements, as well as evaluating different preparation methods.
The results of the analyses were used to make recommendations on
the use of porous pavements in the Georgia Piedmont.
Asphalt parking lot at Southeast Clarke Park monitored as control site.
Porous lot at Southeast Clarke Park.
Example of Ecostone concrete pavers. |
Example of grassy porous pavers (like those used in the porous lot
in Southeast Clarke Park.) |
Runoff samples from asphalt and porous lots at Southeast Clarke Park
(asphalt on left, porous on right.)
|
