Porous asphalt pavements offer developers and planners a new tool in their toolbox for managing storm water. These pavements, used mostly for parking lots, allow water to drain through the pavement surface into a stone recharge bed and infiltrate into the soils below the pavement. Such pavements have been proving their worth since the mid-1970s, and recent changes in storm water regulations have prompted many consulting engineers and public works officials to seek information about them.
What can porous asphalt do? Porous asphalt pavements are of great interest to site planners and public-works departments. With the proper design and installation, porous asphalt can provide cost-effective, attractive pavements with a life span of more than twenty years, and at the same time provide storm-water management systems that promote infiltration, improve water quality, and many times eliminate the need for a detention basin. The performance of porous asphalt pavements is similar to that of other asphalt pavements. And, like other asphalt pavements, they can be designed for many situations.