The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) is using one of its major employee parking lots as a testing ground for various types of permeable pavement materials, designed to prevent stormwater runoff from polluting local rivers and streams, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Phil Kresge. Funded by the PWD and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the project will help advance strategies under the city’s nationally-renowned Green City, Clean Waters stormwater management plan.

The parking lot consists of sections of cast-in-place pervious concrete in the main entrance areas and main drive aisle, colored/stamped pervious concrete in one parking bay, pre-cast pervious concrete panels in another bay, two types of permeable pavers in two separate parking bays and porous asphalt in the remaining drive lanes – plus a rain garden in the grassed areas – for a total of seven different stormwater management areas. The120 cubic yards of pervious concrete comprise 70% of the total paved area. The cast-in-place concrete portions of the project were placed by Nova Crete, an NRMCA-certified pervious concrete installer from South Amboy, NJ; the concrete was supplied by L&L Redi Mix of Southampton, NJ.

The project was the result of work by Ken Crank, Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association/Pennsylvania Concrete Promotion Council (PACA/PCPC), and Ken Justice, PCA-Northeast. Beginning with meetings and presentations as far back as 2010, Crank and Justice provided assistance with specifications and with locating contractors and ready mix producers to bid the project. Justice also provided design assistance.