Cities need permeable pavements for resiliency to flooding: experts
Researchers are developing more permeable pavements to allow water to flow through streets rather than run off the surface and end up in residential basements in an effort to make cities more resilient to flooding caused by climate change.
Researchers are developing more permeable pavements to allow water to flow through streets rather than run off the surface and end up in residential basements in an effort to make cities more resilient to flooding caused by climate change.
More and more in Quebec, the phenomenon is repeating itself: torrential rains overload underground networks that are not adapted to absorb such quantities of water, sewers back up, streets turn into swimming pools and homes are flooded.
Only part of the solution
Pavements such as porous asphalt or permeable concrete can absorb rainwater and make cities more resilient to climate change, but they are only part of the solution.
To mitigate the consequences of flooding in residential areas, “there are a number of things we can do,” explained professor Sophie Duchesne, such as reducing the width of streets.
“If we reduce the width of a street by a third, we will have at least reduced the amount of asphalt by a third, and therefore the amount of impermeable surface by a third, which will generate run-off that we will have to manage,” she said.
“Even if the streets are made of the traditional “impermeable asphalt,” run-off water will run from the streets to areas that are permeable, for example pavements filled with vegetation and then with drainage material,” she added, referring to what is commonly known as a “sponge pavement” or “sponge parks.”
Demineralising certain types of soil, i.e. removing unnecessary asphalt to leave natural areas to absorb rainwater, is recognised as an effective measure for adapting to climate change.
