Permeable Asphalt and Porous Asphalt Pavement

If you are looking for a green asphalt solution or a way to better manage water runoff and storm water management, consider the benefits of porous or permeable pavement. 

What Is Permeable Asphalt Pavement?

Within the asphalt industry, you may hear the terms porous or permeable pavement to describe pavement that allows water to run through the surface to the ground beneath. The industry often refers to permeable asphalt as porous asphalt, even though permeable is a more appropriate description. The term porous simply means that there are holes in the substance, but does not necessarily mean that these holes are connected. For example, pumice is a porous rock, yet it is not permeable because many of its holes do not connect. 

Permeable pavement allows water to flow through it, rather than shedding water over the surface. 

Some of the benefits of permeable paving, include:

• Runoff control and retention with control discharge as needed.
• Aquifer recharge.
• Reduction of drainage structures needed to comply with stormwater regulations.
• Increased pavement skid resistance.
• Stormwater runoff creates temperature equalization. Runoff traveling over an impervious pavement absorbs heat from the impervious surface. Absorbed heat is dissipated as the runoff filters through the permeable pavement system before the runoff enters the stormwater management system.
• Incorporation in the site development as a substitute for an earthen stormwater management pond is value engineering. By providing usable surface spaces, typical stormwater management feature costs are off set.
• Removal of pollutants from runoffs as the permeable pavement system filters undesolved solids from the runoff water.

Contact Wolf Paving to let us help develop your custom asphalt solutions.