- Sustainability Problem
- As the world’s population continues to shift from rural to urban areas, natural drainage systems are being replaced with impermeable surfaces that hinder the environments ability to drain rainwater.
- In a forest, somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of rainwater is absorbed back into the ground. In urban areas that absorption can fall to just 10 percent.
- Existing stormwater drainage systems and sewer systems are becoming outdated and unable to keep pace with an increase in precipitation events.
- Flash flooding is extremely dangerous: experts warn that a mere six inches of fast moving water can knock you off your feet and is one of the leading causes of weather related deaths in the United States.
- Summary of Tarmac Topmix Permeable
- Is an absorptive concrete pavement capable of soaking up more than 880 gallons of water each minute.
- Topmix can rapidly remove water from roadways, preventing dangerous buildup of standing water.
- As it is absorbed, stormwater is filtered through a porous layer of pebbles, removing petroleum hydrocarbons and other pollutants before water is ultimately returned to the water table.
- A drainage system can capture the water for reuse in irrigation or even be cleaned for drinking water, swimming pools, firefighting and wherever else water is needed.
- Topmix can also mitigate the urban Heat Island Effect: because of the pores within its structure, the pavement cannot retain as much heat and can also have a cooling effect on the immediate area.
- Stakeholders:
- Local Government
- Urban Planners
- Architects
- Engineers
- Municipalities
- Pedestrians
- City Dwellers
- Deployment
- Residential Streets
- Shoulder Lanes
- Pedestrian and Bike Paths
- Parking Lots
- Sources
- Inhabitat.com: http://inhabitat.com/thirsty-concrete-absorbs-880-gallons-of-water-a-minute-to-minimize-urban-floods/
- Thinkprogress.org: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/30/3706935/permeable-concrete-climate-change-benefits/
- Discover.com: http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/tech/this-thirsty-concrete-can-drink-880-gallons-of-water-per-minute/
makeasmartcity 
Sounds very promising! I’d assume this has to be rather large scale to reap its full benefits? Or, the associated parties could conduct a study and determine the ideal locations to install the concretes based on gradients surface. Also, how feasible would this be in developing nations where the drainage systems and associated infrastructure are rather lagging behind compared to developed nations? Although, I can see how beneficial the stormwater filteration would to the local communicates in developing economies, where clean water is not available to a majority of the population.
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This is a really interesting use of building material to replace asphalt or concrete. Although it may not work in cold regions or high traffic roadways, it might be used in public parks or parking lots. It will allow for rainwater to be absorbed instead of becoming runoff.
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