You Know You've Got It Bad When...

You know you've got it bad when you start daydreaming about permeable pavement. I think they are so beautiful (see right) and make so much sense! By allowing rain water to infiltrate through your driveway or sidewalk it is reducing stormwater runoff, allowing groundwater to recharge, and allowing excess nutrients to be filtered out. All the while, you are allowing that excess water to get off of your sidewalk or roadway in a faster and safer way; keeping your feet drier. Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement (PICP) has been shown to even stand up against snowplows and rock salt or sand. PICP was used for a main street in North Bay, Ontario and after 8 years of main street traffic, only 4% of the pavers were depressed and less than 1% of the pavers were cracked. Another plus; they come in light, earthy colors that are pleasing to the eye and more reflective than the traditional black asphalt used for roads, therefore decreasing the "urban heat island effect" by reflecting sunlight.

Some more numbers: the runoff coefficient (an indicator of imperviousness) of asphalt pavement is 0.95 compared to 0.25 for PICP. Now, I think that is pretty cool, and so do all my salmon friends! You see, impervious pavement directs stormwater (and nutrients and toxics from the fields and parking lots) into the rivers and bays around your area polluting the water and contributing excess sediment to the stream system.

I don't know why all of these wonderful LID (low-impact development) ideas are just coming to me now -- maybe it's because I am in a position to promote and implement some of them -- but it is great!