Abstract

Asphalt surfaces have greatly increased the amount of pollutant-carrying runoff entering surface waters. To counteract this, permeable pavement can be installed to allow water to infiltrate, thus reducing runoff and acting as a filter. This study tested the surface infiltration rate of 27 permeable pavement sites in North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. One of these sites in North Carolina was monitored to compare pollutant loads of asphalt runoff to those in infiltrate. Concrete grid pavers (CGP) and permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP) were tested with pavement ages ranging from six months to 20 years. Two infiltration tests were run on 14 CGP lots filled with sand. The initial test was on the existing condition of the surface and second test was run after the removal of the top layer of residue (1.3 - 1.9 cm) to simulate maintenance. Maintenance improved the infiltration rate on 13 of 14 sites.

Analysis of the data showed that maintenance improves surface permeability at a confidence level of 99.8%. The median average infiltration rate increased from 5.0 cm/h, for existing conditions, to 8.0 cm/h after maintenance. Eleven PICP sites were also tested. Sites built in close proximity to loose fine particles had infiltration rates significantly less than sites free of loose fines. Averages of each condition are 60 cm/h and 2000 cm/h respectively. Even the minimum existing infiltration rates were comparable to those of a grassed sandy loam soil. Water quality data included in this study shows the results of six storms from June to October, 2003. With only a few storms to compare, only Zinc has been identified as having a statistically significant difference between infiltrate and runoff.

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