Benefits

Allow water to filter through hard surface to increase soil moisture and sustain adjacent vegetation


Decrease excess stormwater runoff

  • Catchment outflow reductions of 67% are possible for rainfall events of less than 50 mm by using permeable paving built over clay subgrades (Collins, Hunt & Hathaway, 2008)
  • Permeable pavement appears to be an effective tool for hydrologic mitigation of storms from “every day events” up to the 10-year, 24-h average recurrence interval (ARI) or now referred to as 10% AEP (Fassman & Blackbourn, 2010)


Stormwater management solution when no underground drainage system exists

Avoid downstream drainage system upgrades

Case study: Kegworth Road, Melrose Park permeable paving project cost $30,000 more than resurfacing the road with asphalt. The project cost $200,000 in total, including permeable paving, leaky wells, and soakage and distributions systems in the nearby reserve. This was in comparison with the estimated $1.2 million cost of upgrading the conventional pit and pipe network to address a local flooding issue (Johnson & King, 2020)


Support maintenance of pre-development run-off rates and/or more natural hydrological cycle

Reduce stormwater ponding on surface of carpark, road or footpath

Reduce the need for stormwater pits and pipes (and associated cost)