Neuse Education Team's demo, study site helped pioneer permeable pavers in coastal community's parking lot |
As an environmentally active Craven County town, River Bend has worked to install several stormwater Best Management Practices for demonstration to the public. One of their most progressive measures, a permeable parking lot, was virtually untried technology when it was built in 2000. “At that time we didn’t have a lot of demonstration sites on the coast,” says David Hardy, soil testing section chief with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Hardy, former environmental agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension in Craven County and a charter member of the Neuse Education Team, sought River Bend to host the permeable lot after previous success in installing a stormwater wetland near the town hall.
‘I think the real benefit is that you’ve allowed water to get back into groundwater rather than flushing it off.’ — John Kirkland, River Bend mayor
“We had already established a good working relationship and we knew the town would take care of the lot and promote it,” says Hardy. So with plans to build parking for the town’s police and public works departments already on town leaders’ agenda, permeable pavement became a priority for River Bend. Through site assessments, “the soil in the area of the lot indicated that it was a good candidate for the use of permeable pavement,” says John Kirkland, River Bend Mayor.
The lot was one of the first installations of a designed permeable pavement system in North Carolina, so new that system components had to be shipped from Maryland. Composed of permeable interlocking concrete pavement laid by hand over sand, Geotech fabric and more sand, the lot is expected to decrease creek-bank erosion, runoff water temperatures, flooding and pollutants caused by runoff from impervious surfaces. The town developed the $9,400 project with the help of NC State University’s Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department and N.C. Cooperative Extension. The N.C. Division of Water Resources and the Newport Correctional Facility Community Assist Team also collaborated to build the 12-stall permeable parking lot.
The lot has weathered several intense rainfalls in River Bend with little runoff that Kirkland has seen. He says the lot has demonstrated a very viable way to establish environmentally friendly parking, and has proven “maintenance-free,” and “very adequately serves the intended use.” “I think the real benefit is that you’ve allowed water to get back into groundwater rather than flushing it off,” Kirkland says.
The lot has also aided research. In 2003, the BMP contributed data to a larger study conducted across North Carolina and parts of Maryland to test the long-term permeability of pervious pavement, says Bill Hunt, NC State BAE extension specialist. In promoting water quality and addressing urban stormwater runoff issues, the permeable pavement has become a visible and accessible demonstration site for the town, surrounding municipalities and professional tours. And with both the wetlands and permeable lot demonstration sites less than a mile apart, near the town hall, “It makes for a pretty good tour,” says Hardy. For information: John Kirkland, 252.633.1363 or jkirkland@riverbendnc.org. To visit River Bend, travel U.S. 17 to New Bern. The permeable lot is at River Bend’s Police Department, 115 Wildwood Dr. -- Lilly Loughner
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