EPA testing green pavement to clean rainwater runoff
Posted Nov 5th 2009 11:56AM by Jeremy Korzeniewski
Green pavement? What's so exciting about that? If I wanted to test out some green pavement, all I'd need to do is make a run to the local Home Depot, pick up a can of green paint and dump it outside my driveway, right? Well, that's not exactly what we're talking about here, of course. But just what is "green pavement" anyway?
In this case, the pavement in question has been designed to suck up the nasty pollutants from vehicles and fertilizers from rainwater runoff. Here's what EPA Acting Regional Administrator George Pavlou has to say on the subject:
There are literally millions of parking lots all over the United States and the rest of the world, and many of those are concentrated in densely-populated urban areas. What can we do about all that potential water pollution? That's exactly what the EPA is working to figure out. Over the next ten years, the EPA will be testing various porous pavement materials in its parking lots along with plants that are good at filtering and absorbing parking lot pollutants.Runoff from parking lots and driveways is a significant source of water pollution in the United States and puts undo stress on our water infrastructure, especially in densely-populated urban areas.
[Source: Wired | Photo: China Photos/Getty Images]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nixon 11:05AM (11/06/2009)
Sounds like a recipe for frost heaves in colder climates, and for making every road base into a future Super fund site due to built up contaminates from decades of "absorbing" toxins.
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Carney 2:27PM (11/05/2009)
Of course, one major source of runoff is vehicle fuel and motor oil.
Electric cars need none of the first and far less of the second.
Cars using alcohol fuel still need motor oil, but alcohol fuel is water soluble and biodegradable, and in thus no threat to the water table.
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letstakeawalk 8:14PM (11/05/2009)
Stormwater runoff isn't just about the pollutants that it carries into the groundwater - truth is, very little actually gets into the groundwater supply.
The pavement prevents rain from percolating directly into the soil where it lands, and collects it, funnels it into a man-made system. Most rainfall in a metro area no longer goes into the ground water below that metro area, it now is diverted via storm water systems into the nearest river or reservoir, which are often a great distance away from where the rain fell. That can potentially rob a water table of its natural recharging source.
In my area, the pavement has increased local flooding. The water can't drain, and the drains overflow (actually backflow during high-tide), and we end up with a foot of standing water in our neighborhood. The best thing to happen recently was a waterline project which has opened up a trench down the length of the street. The trench is currently filled with gravel, which allows the excess water to go into the ground rather than into the storm drain. We've not flooded once while the pavement's been gone.
Pavement with voids (to allow water to permeate and to capture pollution) is great. The biggest downside I've heard is it is rather noisy due to the open spaces. I applaud research into porous pavements that can also filter pollution - get them on my street ASAP!
dan53186 5:50PM (11/05/2009)
This is an interesting concept. But it only leads me to ponder... how do you clean the "greencrete" when it's saturated with gunk?
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PopSmith 7:29PM (11/05/2009)
The EPA should seriously look at Solar Roadways idea. The DOT gave them a $100k contact to build a prototype so they obviously think there is some potential behind it.
While Solar Roadways won't be able to absorb the junk from gasoline/diesel powered cars, it would provide the nation with a decent amount of clean energy and reduce, if not totally eliminate, the need for road salt in the winter.
The clean solar-gathered energy could then be used to provide clean electricity to electric cars and to homes/businesses. Solar Roadways concept is also supposed to greatly reduce the chance of hydroplaning due to it's hydrophilic properties, this would result in less accidents and save both time and lives.
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Steve 8:30PM (11/05/2009)
Both the solar roadways idea and the clean pavement ideas sound good on paper, but what's really going to sink or float any of there ideas if they are economically feasible; and right now reading between the lines all I can see is 'expensive'.
Matt 1:23AM (11/06/2009)
What can we do about all that potential water pollution? It didn't bother nobody until now? Put more BEV's on the roads and you don't have to stress about this anymore.
Just stupid...
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Kumar 7:39AM (11/06/2009)
We considered porous asphalt when redoing the lot at my business, but the cost was much much more than just scraping off a layer and slapping some asphalt on.
In Indianapolis, porous concrete and asphalt should be mandatory for all driveways and parking lots, as we have an old combined sewer system. When it rains even an inch or two, the sewers overflow into the local river. This is bad, as it's combined with the good stuff coming from your toilets.
In addition, as water drains more quickly, less salt would be needed in the winter around here.
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Ben 1:25PM (11/06/2009)
"Runoff from parking lots and driveways is a significant source of water pollution in the United States"
I wonder if Pavlou knows what the word "source" means...
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