This creates an imbalance in the natural ecosystem and leads to a host of problems
including erosion, flash floods, water table depletion, and pollution of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters as rainwater rushing across pavement surfaces picks up everything from oil and grease spills to deicing salts and chemical fertilizers.

A simple solution to avoiding these problems is to stop installing the impervious surfaces that block natural water infiltration into the soil. But few of us are ready to give up our paved roads, driveways, and parking lots. Rather than building them with conventional concrete or asphalt, more and more communities, municipalities, and businesses are switching to pervious concrete—a material that offers the inherent durability and low lifecycle costs of a typical concrete pavement while retaining storm-water runoff and replenishing local watershed systems.

Instead of preventing infiltration of water into the soil, pervious concrete assists the process by capturing rainwater in a network of voids and allowing it to percolate into the underlying soil. In many cases, pervious concrete roadways and parking lots can double as water retention structures, reducing or eliminating the need for traditional storm-water management systems such as retention ponds and sewer tie-ins.

“It’s a great system in that it provides both day-to-day mitigation as well as
catastrophic containment,” says Andy Youngs, a technical representative with the
California Nevada Cement Promotion Council and a specialist in storm-water
management. “With the change in EPA storm-water runoff regulations, pervious
concrete has really come into play because of its use in controlling pollution. In
California, the concrete industry knew about pervious concrete, but didn’t
understand the fit and what a great product it is. It took some time to get everyone onboard, but now we’re starting to hit critical mass and see the use of perviousconcrete explode.

Environmental Benefits
Storm-water runoff is a leading source of the pollutants entering our waterways.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 90 percent of
surface pollutants are carried by the first 1-1/2 inch of rainfall. Storm-water drains don’t typically channel this polluted runoff to treatment facilities, but instead
convey it directly into local water bodies. This can increase algae content, harm
aquatic life, and require expensive treatments to make the water potable.

According to Youngs, the “big three” pollutants in urban runoff are sediment (dirt and debris), heavy metals (from the brake linings of cars), and hydrocarbons. One source of hydrocarbons is the oil that drips onto pavements from vehicles. But the primary contributor is asphalt. “Studies have shown that 90 to 95 percent of the hydrocarbons in urban runoff is from the binder and sealer used for asphalt pavements,” he says.

To address these serious pollution concerns, the EPA and many local municipalities and regional watershed authorities are tightening environmental regulations and requiring more stringent storm-water management practices. Pervious concrete is becoming one of the most viable solutions.


Here are some of the reasons why pervious concrete is becoming one of the most