This paper investigates the ‘effective life’ (or useful lifespan) of permeable pavement installations subject to sediment loadings. The broad aims of this study, which included both laboratory and field work components, were to improve understanding of the long-term pavement hydraulic conductivity, to assess the effective life of permeable pavements and to quantify the degree of sediment trapping and associated pollutant retention. Three types of permeable pavement were investigated. For each type the effects of pavement cleaning were also investigated. Over a simulated 35 years of sediment loading conducted in the laboratory, the results showed reductions of 59–75% in hydraulic conductivity with an average sediment retention of 94%. Suspended sediment concentrations measured at the outflow of the laboratory test beds did not show any significant difference between pavers that were subjected to cleaning and those that were not. For the field studies presented in this paper, hydraulic conductivities were very high in locations where permeable pavements are subjected to small to moderate sediment loads. At other locations with high coarse sediment and organic sediment loads, hydraulic conductivity tests indicated that clogging occurred at a rapid rate, particularly where runoff flowing onto the pavement was concentrated.

Large scale centralised water, wastewater and stormwater systems have been implemented for over 100 years. These systems have provided a safe drinking water supply, efficient collection and disposal of wastewater to protect human health, and the mitigation of urban flood risk. The sustainability of current urban water systems is under pressure from a range of challenges which include: rapid population growth and resulting urbanisation, climate change impacts, and infrastructure that is ageing and reaching capacity constraints. To address these issues, urban water services are now being implemented with Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) and Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) approaches. WSUD systems can deliver multiple benefits including water conservation, stormwater quality improvement, flood control, landscape amenity and a healthy living environment. These systems can be provided as stand-alone systems or in combination with centralised systems. These systems are still novel and thus face knowledge gaps that are impeding their mainstream uptake. Knowledge gaps cover technical, economic, social, and institutional aspects of their implementation. This paper is based on the outcomes of a comprehensive study conducted in South Australia which investigated impediments for mainstream uptake of WSUD, community perceptions of WSUD and potential of WSUD to achieve water conservation through the application of alternative resources, and in flood management. The outcomes are discussed in this paper for the benefit of water professionals engaged with WSUD planning, implementation, community consultation and regulation. Although the paper is based on a study conducted in South Australia, the comprehensive framework developed to conduct this detailed study and investigation can be adopted in any part of the world.

Permeable pavements are generally used in water-sensitive urban design as a component of a treatment train and as a source control measure for reducing stormwater flows and pollutant loads. In Australia, permeable pavement systems are an emerging technology and consequently there are few installations more than 10 years old. The performance of permeable pavements in terms of treatment of urban stormwater runoff from a number of typical, but different urban catchments is discussed. Water quality monitoring was carried out in the field to quantify the improvement that permeable pavement systems can make to runoff quality at a car park located at North Haven in Adelaide, South Australia, that utilise both conventional and permeable pavement systems. Extensive laboratory analysis using stormwater collected from four sites was carried out to assess the effectiveness of permeable pavement systems for reducing pollutant discharges. In general, the permeable pavement systems were found to improve stormwater quality when tested at a 5% significance level. The results show that, on average, permeable pavements were able to reduce nutrient concentrations (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), heavy metals (zinc, lead, copper, cadmium and nickel) and total suspended solids. The reductions in pollutant concentrations can be mainly attributed to mechanical filtration by various components of the permeable pavement system.

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Recycled wastewater is considered as a sustainable source of irrigation water. Despite commendable safety records, viral contamination of agricultural products has occurred the past causing disease outbreaks. This review examines the apprehension that the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) may also spread through recycled wastewater irrigation (RWI) industry. The novel SARS-CoV-2 is now perceived as an enteric pathogen, and has been found to remain stable in the wastewater for days. Mounting evidences also suggest that viral particles shed by infected individuals through sewage, and greywater is much higher (up to 10 Log10) than the amount typically removed (6-7 Log10) through the recycled water disinfection processes. Such gap indicated an increased risk of infection through fecal-oral transmission route. This study also identified greywater irrigation schemes posing a higher risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. It was recommended that countries putting greywater in the ‘low risk’ category may rewrite the safety guidelines in post COVID-19 times. This review also suggest that the choice of irrigation method could be critical in protecting the farmers, and the consumers from possible infections during the pandemic. In this regard, irrigation methods (i.e. sprinkler) that generate airborne droplet (leading to aerosols) may be operated with caution when public spaces are in the vicinity. The study also indicated that the developing countries should regulate surface irrigation practice that pump water from polluted rivers during the pandemic.