Permeable Pavers Gaining Popularity

According to Chuck Taylor, national commercial hardscapes advisor for Belgard Hardscapes, there has been a 10-percent increase in the use of permeable pavers over the past three to four years. He believes this rate will increase to at least 20 percent over the next five years as municipalities adopt strategies that encourage sustainable pavements—and also offer credits to the private sector for sites that provide better land use.

In Chicago, Taylor is seeing nearly half of all new parking lots, streets, walks and plaza commercial paver projects being designed with permeable pavers.

"Tennessee, Kentucky, Iowa and North Carolina are states where we see major projects being embraced by both municipal and private sectors for permeable pavement systems," Taylor added. "These systems are both cost-effective and effective solutions for storm-water management."

There are a host of benefits contractors can site when pitching permeable paver projects to their clients:
• Storm water management
• Reduction of thermal pollution by using SRI (solar reflectance index) materials
• Storing and reusing water for irrigation or other gray water uses
• Recharge the local water table
• Reduce pollution runoff