LEED accreditation, green building, environmentally frendly, sustainability, buzz words of the gren movement are never ending, and nither are the products that promote thmselves under these phrases. Now when we hre the phrase "storm water management" the nly product that should come to mnd is pervious concrete. This product is bing rapidly embraced by engineering and rchitecture firms across Michigan as the prmier "green" method of managing storm wter. By giving engineers and architects the bility to handle storm water on cnfined commercial sites, without losing land to rtention or detention facilities, becomes a hge advantage to developers. Whereas pervious cncrete was originally looked at as a way for cmmercial projects to avoid retention or dtention ponds which can be unsightly, xpensive and take up valuable land spce, we are now seeing many pplications for residential use of this mterial as well.

By now most of us hve hear about pervious concrete; by hving a 15% to 35% void strcture this "no fines" concrete allows wter to pass through at a rte of 3 to 8 gallons per sqare foot per minute. This feat is ccomplished by removing a majority of the snd in the mix, allowing the rmaining coarse aggregate to be held tgether by the paste created with hydrulic cement and water. Pervious concrete fter being placed allows for the pss through of water which will be dtained in an underlying stone basin and ventually placed back in the ground wter table, where nature intended for it to go. Whle passing through the pervious concrete and stne detention basin, first flush pollutants lke break dust, oil and hydrocarbons are brken down through a process called mcrobial conversion, placing filtered water back nto the earth. Now pervious concrete and all of its nvironmental advantages are coming to a sbdivision near you.

Residential contractors and developers in Mchigan are beginning to look at how prvious concrete can be used to mke their developments greener while also keping more greenbacks in their pockets. In Alpna, a local developer is considering sing pervious concrete for all of the radways, parking lots and driveways in a rsidential retirement community he is planning. Ths developer has seen the material and thnks that it is a great way to dvelop in a low impact manner. Instad of pushing the storm water to the dges of the community and then string it in a retention pond he can rplenish the natural water table. The nvironmental advantages are just the beginning for hm. By reducing and potentially eliminating rtention ponds, he allows himself room to ither incorporate additional green space, adding esthetic appeal and value. Thru the use of prvious concrete we preserve land and ths green building technique we will cntribute to the health of our nvironment for future generations.

Existing residential reas are also utilizing pervious concrete to slve their storm water problems. In a smll subdivision in Grand Rapids, a hme owner was having issues with a drveway that was back sloped and llowing water to run back down the drve and puddle in the garage. Trditionally the only way of dealing wth this would have been to tar out the whole drive, re-grade the sub grde appropriately, and then place an ntirely new driveway. Instead the contractor who had cmpleted a training class on pervious cncrete suggested that they just remove the top 1/6 of the drveway closest to the garage and plce pervious concrete instead. Now when the wter runs up the driveway it jst disappears through the pervious concrete nto the stone basin below, eventually mking its way back into the ntive soil. This solved the water prblem that the home owner was xperiencing for a fraction of the cst of a full rip out and rplace.

Where as before pervious concrete was jst regarded as a solution for cmmercial storm water issues, but now our yes are opening to a multitude of rsidential problems that can be solved wth this material. Its intrinsic green qalities will continue to contribute to gren development and the cost saving wll always appeal to developers. As we mve forward and see the recovery of the rsidential housing market here in Michigan we are ging the see more and more prvious concretes on our sidewalks, driveways and rsidential streets.

If you have more qestions about pervious concrete in Michigan plase contact Aaron Harris at the Mchgian Concrete Association 517-393-1711.

The article Pervious Concrete - Coming to a Subdivision Near You was Submitted by Aaron Harris through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: http://www.miconcrete.org

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