Application of stormwater collected from porous asphalt pavements for non-potable uses in buildings

Self Cite

While rainwater harvesting can provide additional water resources, this approach is largely undertaken using water from roofs. More recently, the potential for using stormwater harvested from permeable pavements was recognised as a potential additional water resource. The objective of this study was to estimate the reduction of environmental impacts caused by traditional drainage systems and centralised water utilities if permeable pavement systems were used to harvest stormwater for nonpotable purposes in buildings. The lifecycle environmental impacts and costs associated with the proposed pavements and hydraulic systems were assessed. The city of Glasgow was chosen as a case study. We used the Netuno computer programme to estimate the potential for potable water savings considering the use of stormwater for nonpotable purposes and the SimaPro software to perform a lifecycle assessment (LCA). With the implementation of permeable pavements and stormwater utilisation, great reductions in lifecycle emissions (i.e., CO2-, SO2-, and PM2.5-equivalent emissions) were observed. The proposed system also proved to be economically feasible, i.e., a payback period equal to 16.9 years. The results show the economic and environmental feasibility of permeable pavements when used on a large scale, proving to be an important strategy to reduce water and environmental stresses caused by centralised water utilities and traditional drainage systems.

Section: Potential For Potable Water Savingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…R, the ratio between the contribution area and the permeable pavement area, was equal to 1.00, since both the roads and sidewalks were permeable. We considered the void volume (V r ) as 30% [33]. Through Equation (1), the reservoir layer thickness was found to be 23.0 cm.…”

Section: Permeable Pavement Hydraulic Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction of Environmental Impacts Due to Using Permeable Pavements to Harvest Stormwater

Antunes

Sydney

Ghisi

et al. 2020

Self Cite

“…Using permeable surfaces, such as permeable interlocking concrete pavement, may be a good alternative to mitigate such problems. Nowadays, permeable interlocking concrete pavements are used mainly in parking lots and pedestrian areas [3,4]. However, such a type of pavement could also be used to filter stormwater for non-potable uses, such as flushing toilets and urinals, in buildings [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement to Filter Stormwater for Non-Potable Uses in Buildings

Ghisi

Belotto

Thives

2020

Self Cite

A reduction in potable water demand in buildings could be made by using non-potable water for certain uses, such as flushing toilets. This represents a sustainable strategy that results in potable water savings while also using an underutilised resource. This work assesses the use of permeable interlocking concrete pavement to filter stormwater that could be used for non-potable purposes in buildings. Two pavement model systems were tested. One of the model systems presents a filter course layer with coarse sand and the other model system has no filter course layer. In order to evaluate the filtering capacity, the model systems were exposed to rain events. The amount of water infiltrated through the layers was measured to represent the potential quantity available for use. Stormwater runoff samples were collected from a parking lot paved with impermeable interlocked blocks and then, these were tested in both model systems. Water samples were subjected to quality tests according to the parameters recommended by the Brazilian National Water Agency. The model system with no filter course showed filtering capacity higher (88.1%) than the one with a filter course layer (78.8%). The model system with a filter course layer was able to reduce fecal coliforms (54.7%), total suspended solids (62.5%), biochemical oxygen demand (78.8%), and total phosphorus concentrations (55.6%). Biochemical oxygen demand (42.4%) and total phosphorus concentrations (44.4%) increased in the model system with no filter course layer. In conclusion, one can state that the filter course layer used in permeable interlocking concrete pavement can contribute to decreasing pollutants and can improve stormwater quality. The use of permeable interlocking concrete pavement showed to be a potential alternative for filtering stormwater prior to subsequent treatment for non-potable uses in buildings.

“…They found that dissolved anionic contaminants such as nitrate and chloride were not removed, and phosphorous removal efficiency was 42%, while cationic and undissolved constituents (petroleum hydrocarbons, zinc, and total suspended solids) were almost completely eliminated. A summary of pollutant removal efficiencies by porous asphalt systems was also presented by Hammes et al [36] for further reading.…”

Section: Pollutant Removal By Permeable Pavementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remediation of Stormwater Pollutants by Porous Asphalt Pavement

Jayakaran

Knappenberger

Stark

et al. 2019

Porous Asphalt (PA) pavements are an increasingly adopted tool in the green stormwater infrastructure toolbox to manage stormwater in urbanized watersheds across the United States. This technology has seen particular interest in western Washington State, where permeable pavements are recognized as an approved best management practice per the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) municipal stormwater permit. Stormwater effluent concentrations from six PA cells were compared with runoff concentrations from three standard impervious asphalt cells to quantify pollutant removal efficiencies by porous asphalt systems. Additionally, the effects of maintenance and pavement age on pollutant removal efficiencies were examined. Twelve natural and artificial storms were examined over a five-year period. Street dirt and pollutant spikes were added to the pavements prior to some storm events to simulate high loading conditions. Results from this work show that porous asphalt pavements are highly efficient at removing particulate pollutants, specifically coarse sediments (98.7%), total Pb ( 98.4%), total Zn (97.8%), and total suspended solids (93.4%). Dissolved metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) were not significantly removed. Removal efficiencies for total Pb, total Zn, motor oil, and diesel H. improved with the age of the system. Annual maintenance of the pavements with a regenerative air street sweeper did not yield significant pollutant removal efficiency differences between maintained and unmaintained PA cells.