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y Clerk/ <br />t attached <br />ution passed <br />, 19 78 <br />ERMIT on <br />y of Orono. <br />Porous pavements <br />and urban hydro!•I*y <br />W7xlrcme urbanization in the U.S. <br />JQin the past 30 years has cre­ <br />ated serious environmental pres­ <br />sures on urban land development. <br />Specifically, the hydrology of a <br />developing area is severly im­ <br />pacted because of two principal <br />factors: (1) The percentage of area <br />made impervious through urban ­ <br />ization, and (2) the land served by <br />storm sewers. <br />“Traditionally, the goal of a <br />stormwater management system <br />has been to dispose of stormwater <br />quickly,” said Richard Field, chief <br />of the Storm and Combined Sewer <br />Program of the U.S. Environmental <br />Protection Agency (EPA). “Runoff <br />is usually conveyed to storm sew­ <br />ers, draining more rapidly than <br />from areas previously covered by <br />natural vegetation.” <br />Stormwater Management <br />This method of stormwater man ­ <br />agement increases peak runoff, <br />peak velocities, reduces lag time <br />between precipitation and runoff, <br />and degrades water quality. In­ <br />creases in peak flow can have neg­ <br />ative impacts downstream auch as <br />stream-bed and bank erosion with <br />downstream sedimentation, <br />stream-bed and bank erosion with <br />associated downstream sedimenta ­ <br />tion and increases in frequency and <br />intensity of downstream flooding. <br />The decrease in lag time results in <br />less ground water recharge and <br />decreased low flows in stream <br />channels,” he said. <br />Many communities have en­ <br />acted legislation directing devel ­ <br />opers to reduce excess runoff asso­ <br />ciated with land development. Past <br />stormwater management methods <br />emphasized quicx elimination of <br />stormwater. By contrast, the goals <br />of Innovative stormwater manage­ <br />ment are to maintain natural runoff <br />levels by providing for filtration, <br />runoff velocity, extending lag time <br />43 RURAL AND urban ROADS/JULY. 1963 <br />and reducing runoff volume. <br />Porous pavements have poten ­ <br />tial as a technology for maintaining <br />predevelopment runoff levels by <br />allowing infiltration and ground- <br />water recharge. By acting as an <br />attenuation and runoff reduction <br />device, these pavements can de- <br />New urban land pressures <br />put a squeeze on roads <br />and drainage. <br />crease the volume and peak flow <br />rate and increase lag time. <br />Porous asphalt pavements have <br />been used in highway and airport <br />runway construction. This cpen- <br />graded asphalt mix has been re­ <br />ferred to as “plant mix”, “seal <br />coat ”, “open-graded mix”, “gap- <br />graded mix”, “popcorn mix”, or <br />“porous friction course ”. Material <br />consists of an open-graded asphalt <br />mixture with a high percentage of <br />weight of aggregate larger than a <br />No. 4 sieve having a 0.0187 in. <br />aperture. The material is laid to a <br />thickness of 0.75 to 1 in. The <br />resulting pavement has a course <br />surf.'.ce texture and a high void <br />space-ratio. The course surface <br />texture provides pressure relief <br />channels to remove water under <br />exesss pressure between the pave­ <br />ment and vehicle tire. Temporary <br />storage Is minimal because rainfall <br />is diverted in nearby drains. Also, <br />the high void space-ratio provides <br />channels for dissipation of pressure <br />and flow under the tire. <br />Consequently, hydrostatic pres­ <br />sure cannot build up in the film of <br />surface water under a tire and <br />hydroplaning potential is elimi­ <br />nated. The friction coefficient be­ <br />tween tire and pavement is almost <br />equivalent to the coefficient under <br />dry conditions. <br />California, Nevada, New Mexi­ <br />co, Utah and Louisiana highway <br />agencies have been using plant mix <br />seal-coats for 10 years because of <br />their safety aspects. <br />Applications to airport runways <br />was initiated in 1967 at Farnbor- <br />ough, England by the British Royal <br />Air Force, two European airfields <br />and the U.S. Air Force. Since <br />1947, the California Highway De­ <br />partment open graded base <br />courses under converitional surfac ­ <br />ing to provide rapid drainage in <br />problem areas. <br />The Franklin Institute Research <br />Laboratories, under EPA sponsor ­ <br />ship, investigated porous bases and <br />porous subbases in conjunction <br />with thicker applications of plant <br />mix seal coat. This experiment was <br />to Investigate the potential of deliv­ <br />ering water to the subbase rather <br />than removing it to a stormwater <br />collection system. Also evaluated <br />were a variety of conventional and <br />unconventional materials. The <br />most promising ones were tested to <br />determine their physical and eco ­ <br />nomic feasibility as porous pave ­ <br />ment materials. Of those tested, <br />the open-graded asphalt concrete <br />was selected as the most suitable <br />because of its superior characteris ­ <br />tics, low cost and ability to be laid <br />by conventional paving. <br />Other porous pavement types <br />studied included concrete lattice <br />blocks. <br />Analysis Findings <br />An analysis by the Franklin Insti­ <br />tute found the cost of concrete <br />pavement with storm sewers to be <br />higher than the cost of an equiva ­ <br />lent porous asphalt installation <br />without storm sewer relief. 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