Influence of sediment on the hydrological performance of a permeable pavement

Abstract

Permeable pavements play an essential role in urban drainage systems, making them a subject of great interest to both researchers and practitioners. The majority of studies, however, have demonstrated a significant degree of uncertainty regarding both the operational performance and maintenance requirements of this type of pavement. This paper describes a laboratory-based experimental study investigating the influence of sediment on the hydrological performance of a permeable pavement. The experimental results show that, under sediment and rainfall loading typical for a 10 year period within the UK, partial clogging of the pavement voids with sediment led to a 6·4% decrease in total outflow, a 6·41% decrease in outflow rate, a 9·5% increase in outflow start time, a 20·7% increase in total outflow duration and no significant change in the concentration of suspended solids. However, no surface ponding was observed and it was therefore concluded that an appropriately designed permeable pavement system, exposed to typical UK rainfall and sediment loadings, should be able to operate efficiently for at least 10 years without the need for any post-construction maintenance. Hence, permeable pavements continue to represent an excellent form of source control for both surface runoff and pollutants.