Stormwater Runoff Quality and Quantity from Permeable and Traditional Pavements in Semiarid South Texas

Abstract

Permeable pavements are often developed as alternatives to traditional pavement (TP) systems for the mitigation of urban stormwater runoff impairment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the stormwater runoff and pollutant load-reduction performance of an enhanced permeable interlocking concrete pavement system with enlarged joints filled with gravel. This system was compared with an adjacent TP application located in La Feria, Texas. Both pavements were monitored for 2 years through a total of 65 storm events. Both pavement systems received some run-on stormwater flows from surrounding areas that included sediment and nutrients. Runoff volume was 80% lower than the TP. Furthermore, total suspended solids, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, and Escherichia coli exhibited average reductions of 76% for 23 samples, 56% for 19 samples, and 12% for 11 samples, respectively. Field data were used to develop a Windows Source Loading and Management Model (WinSLAMM) method, which was in good agreement with the observed values.