Why Pervious Paving Is the Answer for You

Being as environmentally concerned as we all undoubtedly are, the latest solutions to surfacing and driveways should be starting to catch on really soon. Pervious paving – try saying that quickly five times – is a way of trying to ensure that water runoff doesn’t actually get into the sewer system, but rather percolates to the ground beneath instead.

You see there is a big difference between groundwater and runoff. There are increasing state and federal rules about just how much runoff can be allowed from a residential structure. There are many reasons for this including the fact that when water “runs off” it doesn’t go into the aquifer, but is more likely to make its way out to sea. Run off which is not controlled can lead to flash flooding in certain circumstances.

With pervious paving, water permeates directly to the ground where naturally occurring bacteria helps with pollutants. It is hoped that when these systems become more mainstream, that complex drainage systems, retention ponds and all associated costs can be alleviated to an extent.

Some people believe that pervious paving does not attract or trap heat as much as its regular counterpart, which may be an advantage from several perspectives (globel warming?), however it is expected to be rather more expensive to install initially.

Many homeowners wonder about the upkeep of their driveways, especially if they park vehicles there on a regular basis. We will still need to guard against regular spillage of oil, or the buildup of pollutants on the surface. We do not want to have a stained surface even if a lot of the pollutant is going into the bedrock layer beneath rather than into the storm system.

If we do choose pervious paving, we may still need to ensure that we have a solution in place to help collect excessive oil. After all, we don’t want too much of the pollutant from our vehicles getting into the aquifer, from where our drinking water comes, either.

Is it possible to use pervious paving on your garage floor as well? While this area does not of course get pummeled by heavy rain showers on a regular basis, the floor still tends to get very wet when you return from a trip in your car.

It’s good to know that new technology is constantly on the horizon to help us balance our daily needs against environmental considerations. Little by little we are being less intrusive, without too much additional hardship!